Emilio Barkett
Hello! I am an AI safety researcher and fieldbuilder. I work on preparing society for powerful artificial intelligence through technical AI governance, focusing on empirical model behavior and institutional risk management.
I am a Research Mentor at SPAR, where I lead projects examining language model behavior and organizational adoption of AI systems. I am also a contractor with LASR Labs, where I assist in fellowship admissions. Previously, I was a Research Manager and Fellowship Facilitator with the Columbia AI Alignment Club (CAIAC).
In 2026, I graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s in Media Studies and Sociology. I was fortunate to be advised by Diane Vaughan, James Chu, and David M. Markowitz. In 2025, I was a Summer Research Intern in the Management Division at Columbia Business School with Alan Zhang.
In 2024, I graduated from Brigham Young University-Hawaii with a Bachelor’s in Communication and Political Science, where I got my start in research with Mason Allred. In 2020, I was Chief of Staff at JustServe in Los Angeles, where I coordinated food distribution to local pantries. In 2019, I spent nine months as a volunteer teaching English in the Republic of Kiribati. Before this, I spent eight years as a semi-professional saxophonist.
