Gregory C. Allen is a US national-security analyst who writes on AI export controls and US-China AI competition. He directs the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Background and roles
Allen directs the Wadhwani AI Center at CSIS. He was previously founding director of strategy and policy at the US Department of Defense Joint AI Center (JAIC), the predecessor of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO).
Positions and statements
Allen is among the most frequently cited US commentators on AI export controls and their effectiveness in constraining Chinese AI development.
In analysis published after the emergence of DeepSeek (CSIS, 2025), Allen reframed the export-control debate from a "controls failed" reading to the position that controls have design flaws and enforcement gaps while the core premise remains sound. He argues that the H20 episode showed Huawei's constraint migrating from silicon access to software ecosystem quality, which he describes as a more durable constraint.
Relationships
- leads: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) — Wadhwani AI Center
- related: CSIS — DeepSeek, Huawei, Export Controls, and the Future of the U.S.-China AI Race (Allen, March 2025)
- related: Compute Governance — export controls as compute chokepoint
- related: Chip Smuggling and Export-Control Evasion — enforcement gap analysis