About Us
Building a technology future that serves European consumers, businesses and democracy
Sovereign and prosperous: our vision for the future of the technology ecosystem in Europe
We need competitive, open markets that encourage innovation, produce better products and give consumers real and feasible choices. Today’s digital technology ecosystem fails to serve European consumers, businesses and democracy on multiple counts.
In a changing world where the security of Europe is more at risk than it has been for decades, it is critical that Europe builds a sovereign, technology ecosystem that is not reliant on the decisions of foreign governments or CEOs and has the robustness to protect democracy. This sovereign digital ecosystem must also be prosperous – delivering real value to consumers, businesses and the wider economy.
The Future of Technology Institute is an initiative of The Meliore Foundation. We are independent and not aligned to any political party or movement. We do not take funding from tech companies.
People
Our core team
Sherif Elsayed-Ali
Executive Director
Diego Naranjo
EU Advocacy Director
Cori Crider
Senior Fellow
Sherif Elsayed-Ali
Executive Director
As Executive Director of the Future of Technology Institute, Sherif brings unique expertise at the intersection of technology policy, entrepreneurship and human rights. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Carbon Re, a joint spin-out of Cambridge University and UCL using machine learning to accelerate the decarbonization of foundational materials such as cement. Prior to this, he set up and led the AI for Climate practice at Canadian scale-up Element AI and was co-founder of Amnesty Tech. He was a World Economic Forum Global Future Council co-chair and a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, both focusing on the intersection of technology and human rights. Sherif has a BSc degree in Civil Engineering from the American University in Cairo and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard.
Diego Naranjo
EU Advocacy Director
Diego Naranjo worked as a lawyer and he co-founded the Andalusian human rights organisation Grupo 17 de Marzo. Before joining the Future of Technology Institute, Diego was Policy Director at EDRi (European Digital Rights) for nearly 10 years, where he advocated for the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights and freedoms online. Diego has a specialism in human rights law, and owns a Master’s degree in human rights from the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation in Venice. In his role at FoTI, he is instrumental in working with policymakers to understand, adopt, and enforce strong technology policies that benefit consumers and businesses.
Cori Crider
Senior Fellow
Cori Crider is a Senior Fellow at Open Markets and the Future of Technology Institute, where she examines ways to reshape digital markets for the benefit of people and planet. Previously, Cori co-founded Foxglove, a legal non-profit committed to justice in technology. Foxglove won the UK’s first legal challenges to biased algorithms in border control and student grading. Other landmark cases enforced the rights of Facebook and Amazon workers, challenged social media’s role in fuelling violence, and defended public value and patient autonomy in the use of health data.
Cori’s earliest work was in national security. She spent seven years as a Director at Reprieve, where she led an international team of lawyers and advocates representing drone strike survivors and Guantánamo detainees. In 2019, she presented The World According to AI, a documentary for Al Jazeera English. Cori holds a B.A. from the University of Texas and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.