Nikita Roy is a data scientist, journalist, and Harvard-recognized AI futurist. She is the founder of Newsroom Robots Lab, an AI strategy and innovation firm for media organizations currently incubating at Harvard Innovation Labs.
She also hosts Newsroom Robots, a globally charting podcast on AI and the future of journalism — ranked among the top technology podcasts in over 30 countries on Apple Podcasts — and is currently an Emerging Tech Fellow at the University of Missouri.
As a Knight Fellow at the International Center for Journalists, Nikita led AI upskilling efforts across media organizations on six continents. She played a pivotal role in launching and leading the AI Journalism Lab at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY — a groundbreaking initiative supported by Microsoft — and serves on the university's AI Advisory Board. She has testified before the Canadian Parliament's Heritage Committee on AI's impact on media and cultural sovereignty.
A globally recognized keynote speaker, Nikita's expertise has been featured on BBC, CBC, Quartz, Yahoo Finance, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and Harvard's Nieman Lab. She serves on the boards of the Online News Association and the Canadian Association of Journalists, and is co-chairing the CAJ's 2026 national conference in Ottawa.
An alumna of Harvard University and the University of Toronto, she is the co-author of The Science of First, a book on how AI is rewriting the value chain of journalism. She champions responsible AI adoption in media through strategic advisory, product development, and hands-on workshops.