Signal’s Meredith Whittaker DEBATES an AI policy expert: Can we trust AI agents? | Summit 2026
About Meredith
- President of Signal; board member of the Signal Foundation
- Co-founded AI Now Institute; helped shape global tech and AI policy
- Nearly 20 years across tech, academia, and government
- Advisor to FTC Chair Lina Khan on tech policy
- Helped organize Google's 2018 walkout by thousands over harassment handling
About Neil
- Head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute
- Former Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission
- Lawyer and computer scientist
- Author of "Getting Out of Control" on emergent leadership
| 27:59
At Masters of Scale Summit, host Jeff Berman moderates a live debate: should we stop handing our personal information to AI agents? Signal president Meredith Whittaker says yes. She argues that agents need broad access to work, and that access can undermine encryption, expose personal data, and give hackers new ways in. Neil Chilson, head of AI policy at the Abundance Institute, says no. He contends that existing laws, market competition, and targeted safeguards can keep the risks in check without giving up the productivity gains. So where should we draw the line on what AI agents can access?
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Should we trust AI agents with our information?
Signal’s Meredith Whittaker
Abundance Institute’s Neil Chilson
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Signal’s Meredith Whittaker
Abundance Institute’s Neil Chilson