Neil Chilson

Neil Chilson is the Head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute. Neil is a lawyer, computer scientist, and author of the book Getting Out of Control: Emergent Leadership in a Complex World. Neil was previously a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University. Previous to that position, Neil was a senior research fellow for Technology and Innovation at Stand Together, where he guided efforts to understand and promote the legal and cultural paradigms that enable people to discover, innovate, and improve all our lives. Neil was previously the Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission, where he focused on the economics of privacy and blockchain-related issues. He also served as an attorney advisor to Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen. In both roles he advised Chairman Ohlhausen and worked with staff on nearly every major technology-related case, report, workshop, or other FTC proceeding. Neil joined the FTC from the telecom firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer. Neil is frequently quoted by the press and his work has appeared in numerous news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, and Newsweek. Neil has a J.D. from The George Washington Law School, a M.S. in computer science from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a B.S. in computer science from Harding University.