Tristan Low

MSt candidate · Global and Imperial History · University of Oxford, Brasenose College

I am a graduate student at the University of Oxford reading for the MSt in Global and Imperial History, specialising in modern China and state capacity. My academic work sits within the longer history of how states navigate technological change and translate strategic assets into durable power.

Alongside my studies, I research and write on artificial intelligence and geopolitics, with a focus on the AI value chain — compute policy, AI sovereignty, and how states are positioning themselves within the emerging architecture of AI power. I am particularly interested in how middle powers respond to the structural advantages held by the United States and China, and what viable strategies exist for those outside the technological frontier.

I co-founded Cambrian, a research publication on AI strategy and geopolitical risk, and have contributed political risk analysis on the Chinese AI ecosystem, industrial policy, and digital development in Southeast Asia and Africa. I am also a Fellow of the Centre for Reducing Suffering, where I have researched how AI misalignment could give rise to large-scale catastrophic risk.