Neil Thompson At NDTV World Summit 2025: All About MIT FutureTech Director

Neil Thompson, Director of the FutureTech Research Project at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), is among the leaders attending the NDTV World Summit on October 17 and 18 in New Delhi. Leading figures from politics, science, technology, and business will gather to discuss global innovation, promote collaboration, and tackle emerging challenges.

Neil Thompson At MIT

Since May 2021, Thompson has served as Director of MIT's FutureTech research initiative, where he focuses on emerging technologies and their impact on business and society. Simultaneously, he holds the position of Principal Research Scientist at MIT's Initiative on the Digital Economy.

At the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), his roles have progressed from Associate Member to Research Scientist and, most recently, Principal Research Scientist.

Thompson was also an assistant professor of innovation and strategy at MIT Sloan School of Management, where he co-directed the Experimental Innovation Lab (X-Lab).

Academic Leadership And Advisory Roles

Neil Thompson has also served as a visiting professor at Harvard's Laboratory for Innovation Science. He has advised businesses and government on the future of Moore's Law. His expertise has also been sought on National Academies panels addressing transformational technologies and scientific reliability. In addition, he serves on the Council on Competitiveness' National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers.

Experience Across Government And Industry

Before joining academia, Thompson amassed experience with leading global organisations, including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Bain and Company, the United Nations, the World Bank and the Canadian Parliament.

Academic Achievements

Thompson holds a PhD in Business/Managerial Economics from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley (2007-2012). His doctoral research examined the impact of information technology on firm productivity and explored the strategic implications of changes in Moore's Law. He authored a work on academia's use of intellectual property, recognised as "Best Paper" at the 2012 Academy of Management Meeting.

Thompson completed master's degrees in computer science and statistics at Berkeley and participated in the Parallel Computing Lab. He earned a master's in economics (2003-2004) from the London School of Economics as a British Council Chevening Scholar. Later, he completed a master's in business (2007-2009) at Haas. He holds undergraduate degrees in economics and physics from Queen's University (1997-2001).

NDTV World Summit 2025

The NDTV World Summit 2025 is an international conference bringing together leaders from politics, science, technology and business to explore this year's theme, "Risk, Resolve and Renewal". The two-day event will take place on October 17 and 18 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.