Dr. Michelle Aten

Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)

Michelle Aten assumed the duties as NGA’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) in October 2025.

Previously, she held positions as Chief of Digital Innovation and AI for Mission in CIA’s Weapons and Counterproliferation Mission Center (WCPMC). She also served as Director, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA), Deputy Chief of Staff for the Directorate of
Digital Innovation, Deputy Director, AIDA and Deputy Chief, Innovation to Enterprise. As a technical leader and innovation pioneer, she developed, delivered, led, and championed IC’s Foundational AI Stack, including mission-focused AI capabilities aligned with IC and DoW strategic goals, policies, and standards.

Dr. Aten joined CIA in 2014, where she established the Agency’s first computer vision program and published the Agency's first finished intelligence products utilizing AI models. Her notable achievements include leading the design, development, and deployment of CIA’s premier solutions to democratize access to Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAGs), and agentic AI capabilities.

She co-founded the CIA's Data Science career service and the IC's Annual Machine Learning Conference (MLCON). She is a recipient of the Dr. Alan Turing Innovation Award, the National Intelligence Professional Award, and the Intelligence Commendation Medal.

January 2026

Event Participation