Recovering lawyer. Integrity professional. Dog trainer.#
Before he found cybernetics Jake was a lawyer for over 20 years. He is one of Australia’s most experienced national security lawyers with expertise in telecommunications interception, the use of surveillance devices, computer network operations and ‘cyber warfare’. He has also played a leading role in the oversight of the legality and propriety of the work of intelligence and security agencies through his many years as the Deputy and acting head of the integrity agency charged with overseeing these bodies. In his work on the other side of campus as an Associate Professor at the ANU National Security College, Jake convenes a Masters course on national security law and teaches into a number of professional courses. He really enjoys teaching.
Jake has an enduring commitment to promoting human rights and equality and through his role as Chair of A Gender Agenda has directly contributed to significant law and policy changes that have made the ACT and Australia a leader in transgender rights, though this work is far from done. In his spare time Jake is a volunteer fire fighter, a successful dog trainer and spends a lot of time fixing things on his rural property. He enjoys motorcycle riding and was lucky enough to ride around Mongolia just before Covid. Riding through Portugal, Spain and Morocco is next on his list.
Jake has a first class honours degree in Law, an Arts degree majoring in gender and a Masters in Applied Cybernetics. He is currently working on a PhD at the School of Cybernetics at ANU exploring how cybernetics can assist in identifying and managing the risks of using AI in intelligence agencies.