Natasha G. Kohne

San Francisco
Natasha Kohne is at the forefront of Akin's artificial intelligence initiatives, serving as the global co-leader of the firm's cross-disciplinary technology and AI and machine learning groups, as well as the firmwide leader of its cybersecurity, privacy and data protection practice.
Kohne's initial fascination with AI was sparked by its potential to revolutionize various industries. She views her work in AI as a natural progression from her expertise in privacy and cyber law, given that AI is driven by data, which is sometimes regulated, and many state privacy statutes address automated decision-making technology. As AI technology progresses, it brings with it an array of data privacy and security considerations.
"Further, the U.S. AI regulatory landscape started to develop similar patterns to the development of the data privacy and cybersecurity regulatory landscapes," Kohne explained. "As generative AI has become more popular and the evolving landscape continues to develop, I have dove into AI-related work outside of the privacy context, including governance and risk management work, and global legal landscape assessments."
She continued: "We review enforcement actions and litigation impacting AI, as well AI frameworks and guidelines in relation to trustworthy safe and secure AI systems. This approach is similar to how data privacy and cybersecurity regulation developed and because data and security are an integral part of AI, it seemed like a natural extension to take on these matters."
While her work is confidential, Kohne has been actively engaged in advising boards, C-Suite executives, general counsels and asset managers on AI governance and risk management issues. This includes guiding them on the development and use of AI in their businesses, identifying common themes and requirements across global AI frameworks, integrating those regulations into their compliance programs, and assisting companies in drafting policies for the internal use of generative AI tools.
"We spend a lot of time anticipating where we think the regulators will go so that the engineers can build safeguards into the design and development of AI products and services," Kohne said. "With AI regulations popping up around the globe, we provide holistic guidance and assessments to clients around how emerging regulations will impact their businesses."
She said in the next year or two, she anticipates Lawyers will see more clients with next gen AI applications changing the way they do business instead of just adding functionality.
"We are likely to see an increase in cases and regulation involving cybersecurity data privacy, AI bias, and intellectual property rights related to AI-generated content," she said. "Additionally, as AI continues to evolve, there will be a growing need to address issues of accountability and transparency in AI decision-making processes. I also expect the global race between the U.S. and China to have a big impact on the future of AI and the AI regulatory landscape."