Keyun Ruan Keynote Speaker

Prof. Keyun Ruan is a pioneering technologist, economist, and thought leader working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, economics, risk, and human flourishing.

Her work explores one of the defining questions of our time: how technological revolutions reshape human civilization, and how we design economic and technological systems that enable humanity to flourish in the age of artificial intelligence.

Keyun is Co-Director of the AI & Flourishing Program at Harvard University and Founder of the Happiness Foundation, a multidisciplinary think tank focused on the future of human flourishing in the AI era. Working with leading institutions, governments, and industry partners, she develops new metrics, economic models, and governance frameworks for AI systems, and helps translate them into real-world adoption.

Her central thesis is that the next stage of human progress will not be defined by intelligence alone, but by a transition from an economy optimised for productivity to one designed for human and universal flourishing.

Over the past two decades, Keyun has pioneered multiple emerging fields underpinning the digital economy. She founded Risk Economics, a discipline focused on measuring and valuing digital risk and digital assets. Her work introduced new economic principles, valuation models, and the first formal risk units for measuring cyber risk, published in the journal Computers & Security in 2016. Her book “Digital Asset Valuation and Cyber Risk Measurement” (Elsevier Economics, 2019) helped establish the foundations of cyber risk economics.

Earlier in her career, Keyun also created the field of cloud forensics during her PhD research on cybercrime investigation in 2009. She edited the world’s first academic reference book on the subject, trained organisations including Interpol and Europol, contributed to international security standards widely adopted today, and advised governments and some of the world’s largest corporations on cloud security and digital transformation. Her work has significantly strengthened the security, resilience, and incident response capabilities of global digital infrastructure.

Keyun began programming at the age of 12. She holds a PhD in Computer Science and a Diploma in Art and Design, reflecting her passion for transdisciplinary innovation across technology, economics, and human values.

She is a frequent keynote speaker at global industry and academic conferences, including the World Economic Forum, SXSW, DLD, Web Summit, and CogX, and is based in London, United Kingdom.