How does a 23-year-old find herself advising a 93-year-old president, move from there to the Prime Minister's Office, onto the OECD's board, and today, from New York, help shape how governments will use artificial intelligence?

As part of our community interviews, we hosted Yam Atir, a policy lead at Darwin AI in the US. Yam, born in '92, has managed to rack up a lifetime's worth of mileage at the most sensitive junctions of global diplomacy and technology. Here are the highlights and core insights from our conversation, ones that will make you look at leadership, age, and decision-making a bit differently.

1. Shimon Peres's school: overcoming impostor syndrome

At 23, Yam received an offer nobody turns down: to become the full-time assistant to former President Shimon Peres. Sitting in one room with a man who wrote history, with 70 years separating you, is fertile ground for "impostor syndrome."

The core insight: age really is just a number when you bring value, curiosity, and a willingness to work hard to the table. The biggest lesson from Peres was the ability to look forward, dream big, and not let the fears or cynicism of the present stop tomorrow's vision.

2. The 60-second rule: the playbook for decision-makers

Afterward, Yam served as an international organizations officer in Judea and Samaria (facing over 100 organizations), and later at the Prime Minister's Office. In such extreme-pressure environments, time is the most precious resource.

Yam's playbook for delivering a message: * Ruthless distillation: a senior decision-maker has exactly 60 seconds to listen to you before they have to make a fateful decision.

  • Bottom line up front (BLUF): always start with the recommendation or the operative request, and only then dive into the reasoning.

  • Confidence in the data: when you present a problem, come prepared with 2-3 alternative solutions in advance.

3. Shaping the next 60 years (and regulation isn't a dirty word)

During the COVID pandemic, Yam found herself on a special advisory board for the OECD in Paris, planning global policy for the next 60 years. From there she moved to "Start-Up Nation Central" and founded the SNPI research institute.

Tech people and entrepreneurs sometimes tend to see "regulators" as a factor that slows innovation down. Yam proves the opposite: policy design is the tool that lets innovation grow sustainably. Smart regulation doesn't stop progress, it builds the safe track for it to run on.

4. Tomorrow's governments: state-level AI

Today, after studying at Harvard and MIT, Yam works in New York at Darwin AI. The company builds an AI layer (agentic AI) built specifically for governments.

While the business market is busy figuring out how AI will save work hours, Yam deals with macro questions: how do you decide what's allowed and what's forbidden for AI operating at the level of a state? How can AI agents improve civilian bureaucratic processes, and how do you keep public systems from falling behind the dizzying pace of technology?

5. A tip for the next generation: take command of the room

Throughout her career, Yam was often the youngest woman in heavy meeting rooms on defense, government, and technology (both in Israel and in the US).

Her advice to young people entering the worlds of diplomacy and politics:

  • Don't be afraid to lead: don't wait for permission to speak. Take ownership of your knowledge.

  • Specialize in connecting worlds: tomorrow's diplomacy isn't just international relations, it's understanding how technology (cyber, AI, climate) shifts the balance of power between nations.

The full interview took place in our WhatsApp community, following Lost in Y's interview tradition. Feel free to join us and meet the people shaping tomorrow.