Former Trump FTC official defends cuts to federal university funding in AI race with China

Federally funding universities to boost U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence is akin to mirroring China’s strategy -- and a mistake -- according to Neil Chilson, a senior Federal Trade Commission official during the first Trump administration who now leads AI policy for the Abundance Institute.

The Abundance Institute is a free-market think tank associated with the Koch foundation which has been making a strong push to reduce environmental permits to make way for energy hungry data centers.

Chilson’s comments come...