Jim Rutt
Jim Rutt is a Distinguished Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and the Chairman of the California Institute for Machine Consciousness (CIMC), as well as the host of The Jim Rutt Show podcast, with over five years of experience exploring cutting-edge thinking in science, technology, and social systems. He is the Past President and Cofounder of the MIT Free Speech Alliance, a nonprofit organization founded in 2021 to champion free expression and open inquiry at MIT.
As Chairman of CIMC since June 2025, Jim grounds the institute’s mission in developing testable theories of machine consciousness and fostering a culture and ethics built on a deeper understanding of consciousness. The New York Times once referred to him as “the Internet’s bad boy” due to his reputation for creative mischief.
Jim’s entrepreneurial background spans several decades of founding and leading technology companies. He was the first CTO of Thomson Reuters, serving from 1992 to 1999, where he helped shape one of the world’s largest information services companies. He was the CEO of Network Solutions from 1999 to 2001, during which he negotiated the company’s $21 billion acquisition by VeriSign, after which it continued to operate as an independent subsidiary. Read Verisign to buy Network Solutions for $21B.
He was Chairman of the computer chip design software company Analog Design Automation until its acquisition by Synopsys in 2004. Previously, he either founded or played a key role in several significant information services and network companies, including THE SOURCE, Business Research Corp., Pinpoint Information Corp, Wall Street on Demand, and MarketSwitch. From 2009 to 2012, Jim served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Santa Fe Institute, a world-renowned multidisciplinary research organization dedicated to the study of complexity science. He was Researcher in Residence at the Santa Fe Institute from 2002 to 2004, studying the application of complexity science to financial markets and evolutionary artificial intelligence.
As a thought leader and innovator, Jim has made significant contributions to multiple fields. He is the Executive Producer of the film An Initiation to Game~B, which explores alternative civilization-level social operating systems. He is also the creator of Network Wars, the popular mobile game. He was Executive Producer of the award-winning film Zombiewood.
In 1981, Jim made linguistic history by being the first to use the term “snail mail” to describe conventional mail services, in contrast with email. In 2013, Jim brought together a group of thinkers from different fields to work on what developed into Game~B, a movement exploring new civilization-level social operating systems that can support the lives of at least hundreds of millions of people. Read A Journey to GameB and The Story of Game B. Watch An Invitation to Game B with Jim Rutt.
Following his retirement from Network Solutions, Jim was appointed by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to serve on the State Investment Council, which manages New Mexico’s $20.5 billion permanent endowment, including the Land Grant & Severance Tax permanent funds, as well as investments for 21 other governmental clients. The permanent funds provide more than $800 million in benefits to New Mexico schools and taxpayers annually.
In 2014, Rutt cofounded a makerspace in Staunton, Virginia, with software engineer Dan Funk, establishing the Staunton Makerspace as a community workshop that focuses on innovation, collaboration, and creativity. At the MIT Free Speech Alliance, Jim described himself as politically progressive and the organization as staunchly bipartisan, saying he was shocked and angry when he learned that some MIT faculty members had said their voices were increasingly silenced. Read Alumni groups pop up to foster free speech on campus.
Jim earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. He is currently an SFI Research Fellow working in the scientific study of consciousness and evolutionary artificial intelligence. He is also a member of the Board of Advisers of the Krasnow Institute and of the Virginia Tech Carilion Neuroscience Research Institute.
In his earlier career, he worked as Senior VP of Technology at Business Research Corp from October 1982 to January 1987 in Boston, where he created and sold online professional business databases and services, including First Call and Investext. From November 1980 to October 1982, he served as Director of Product Management at The SOURCE in McLean, Virginia, a consumer and small business dial-up online service, long before the advent of AOL and the internet.
The Jim Rutt Show, launched in June 2019, has become a leading podcast that examines cutting-edge thinking across diverse fields. Recent episodes have featured conversations with thinkers, including Pablos Holman on Deep Future technology, Brendan Graham Dempsey on Psyche and Symbolic Learning, and James Fadiman on microdosing psychedelics. The podcast has garnered praise for Jim’s masterful interviewing style and his ability to provoke real conversations with leading thinkers, writers, and doers who are shaping the future. Listen to Jim Rutt – How to Transition to a GameB Society.
Jim was born in 1954 and currently resides in the Greater Charlottesville Area of Virginia. Throughout his career, he has been recognized as a systems thinker and advocate for complexity science, bringing together his expertise in technology, business, and scientific research to address humanity’s most pressing challenges. Listen to Jim Rutt on Creating a Better Society and The best interview strategy ever – Jim Rutt, Podcaster at The Jim Rutt Show.
Visit his LinkedIn profile, Santa Fe Institute page, and Substack. Follow him on Facebook, Medium, and X.