I’m an affiliated researcher at the Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge, where I work on the economic and political implications of digital technology.
My current research has two strands. The first is what generative AI does to organizations, institutions and markets — particularly in scientific research, financial services and software development. The second is the political legitimacy of big tech companies: not whether they are too powerful, but on what basis they could ever claim the authority they already exercise.
I came to this from industry rather than the academy, which shapes how I approach it. I was employee number one and chief marketing officer at Bought By Many — now ManyPets — which grew into a fintech unicorn during the decade I was involved with it. Before that I was head of strategy and development at the data company Experian, and head of consumer finance at Santander. Having spent more than twenty years working with consumer data commercially, I find much of the public debate about it is obfuscated by technical misunderstandings.
That was part of the argument of my book, Good Data: An Optimist’s Guide to Our Digital Future (Hachette, 2021), an FT Business Book of the Month. It makes the case that the dominant “surveillance capitalism” narrative misdescribes how the data economy works, and that an excessive focus on individual privacy can entrench the power of the largest technology companies rather than curbing it.
I got a first in Modern History and English at Oxford, and later took an MPhil in International Relations and Politics at Cambridge, where I was awarded a distinction. I live in Copenhagen.
Advisory work
Alongside my research, I advise early-stage companies on strategy and growth. Having built and run the sales and marketing function at a company that went from nothing to a unicorn, I tend to be especially useful to founders working out the best ways to acquire customers.
I also sit on the board of the Danish non-profit Data for Good Foundation.
If you think I could help, get in touch.
Speaking and media
I speak regularly on generative AI and the data economy to business, academic and general audiences. From time to time I’m quoted in the press — most recently on the environmental footprint of large language models, tech regulation, and Elon Musk’s politics. Journalists and event organizers are welcome to get in touch.
Contact
LinkedIn · Google Scholar · Bennett School profile · Goodreads
Literary representation: Jonathan Conway, Jonathan Conway Literary Agency
CVR no. 45966941
Sam Gilbert // Good Data 