“AI doesn’t just hack machines, it hacks minds.

That, more than any new exploit or zero-day, may be the defining threat of our time.”

Dr Mary Aiken is a world leading expert in Cyberpsychology, the study of the impact of technology on human behaviour.

She is Professor of Cyberpsychology and Chair of the Department of Cyberpsychology at Capitol Technology University Washington D.C.’s premier STEM University, and Professor of Forensic Cyberpsychology at the University of East London.

Professor Aiken is a Member of the INTERPOL Global Cybercrime Expert Group and an Academic Advisor to Europol’s European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3). 

She is recognized as an international expert and pioneer in cyberpsychology.  She has been spoken at global organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, G7, Europol, INTERPOL and the White House.

Her expert includes; AI, cyberpsychology, human factors in cybersecurity, organized cybercrime, online behavioural profiling,  personal cyber security and online child protection.

Prior to returning to academia, Professor Aiken worked at a board level in industry; specializing in consumer behavioral profiling, innovation and future thinking.

She is a Strategic Advisor to the Paladin Capital Group Cyber fund, and a Scientific Advisor to ARM Holdings’ kids and technology project GenARM2Z.

Dr Mary Aiken has addressed  global conferences, including the Global Cybersecurity Forum in Brussels and sessions for international policy leaders. Her talks highlight the intersection of human behavior, technology, and safety in an AI-driven world. By weaving real-world examples with research insights, Dr Aiken delivers strategies to decision-makers enabling them to anticipate online risks and harness technology responsibly.

Professor Aiken’s work as a Cyberpsychologist inspired the CBS primetime television series CSI: Cyber, she was a producer on the show. Her  book, ‘The Cyber Effect’ was selected by the Times as a 2016 ‘book of the year’ in the Thought category, and was listed in the top twenty science books by Nature the International Journal of Science. A published, peer-reviewed author, Mary Aiken has been featured by CBS, BBC, New York Post, Newsweek, NPR, Inside Edition, Scientific American, Variety, the Atlantic,  Washington Post,  New York Times,  Sunday Times,  The Guardian,  Hollywood Reporter and Time Magazine.

Keynote Speaking Topics:

Cyberpsychology
An introduction to this futuristic cyber discipline. Pioneering Cyberpsychologist Dr Mary Aiken explains how human behaviour changes online; from the Online Disinhibition Effect; to anonymity online (a super human power of invisibility); to rampant cybercriminality on the Dark Web

Human Factors in Cybersecurity
Most cyberattacks are facilitated by social engineering. Socially engineered attacks have very little to do with technology – and everything to do with psychology. An expert keynote on how to factor the human into the cybersecurity equation

Cyber Behavioural Profiling
Dr Aiken delivers a master class on the science and art of Cyber Behavioural Profiling. Her work and research as a Cyberpsychologist inspired the CBS TV series ‘CSI : Cyber.’ From INTERPOL to Hollywood – hear about her journey and learn how to ‘think like a profiler’

Psychology of AI
A deep dive into the psychological and social effects of technology. AI is a game changer in the humanisation of machines. From the evolution of ChatBots to man-computer symbiosis; ChatGPT to autonomous systems- discover the impact of AI on humankind

Active Cyber Defense
“The Enterprise Strikes Back” informed by her latest research on industry-led ‘active cyber defense’ and inspired by IARPA’s cyberpsychology program; a novel fascinating talk on targeting cyber attacker cognitive vulnerabilities – the science and art of ‘psychologically hacking back’

Trust & Safety Tech
Cybersecurity protects your data, systems and devices BUT it does not protect what it is to be human online. One of the founders of the global ‘Safety Tech’ sector, Dr Aiken showcases tech solutions to tech-facilitated harmful and criminal behaviours; from cyber fraud to hate speech, disinformation to cyberstalking.

The Cyber Effect: A Pioneering Cyberpsychologist Explains How Human Behaviour Changes Online, A ground-breaking exploration of how cyberspace is changing the way we think, feel and behave.

Reviews

“Just as Rachel Carson launched the modern environmental movement with her Silent Spring, Mary Aiken delivers a deeply disturbing, utterly penetrating and urgently timely investigation into the perils of the largest unregulated social experiment of our time.”– BOB WOODWARD

“ Drawing on a fascinating and mind-boggling range of research and knowledge, Mary Aiken has written a great, important book that terrifies then consoles by pointing a way forward so that our experience online might not outstrip our common sense. A must-read for this moment in time.” – STEVEN LEVITT, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Freakonomics

The Cyber Effect offers a fascinating and chilling look at a future we can still do something about.