His work is recognized in academia for the first study that assessed how much information there is in the world;[4] in public policy for having designed the first digital action plan with the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations (eLAC Action Plans); and in the popular media for having alerted about the intervention of Cambridge Analytica a year before the scandal broke.

[5] Hilbert served as Economic Affairs Officer of the United Nations Secretariat for 15 years (UN ECLAC), where he created the Information Society Program for Latin America and the Caribbean[6] He conceptualized the design of the eLAC Action Plans, which has led to six consecutive generations of digital development agendas for Latin America and the Caribbean (2005–2025).

[7] Hilbert studies the conditions and effects of digitalization (information & communication) and algorithmification (knowledge)[8] on human processes and societal dynamics.

He has consulted with governments and companies, especially in Latin America, which has earned him media-titles like “guru of big data”.

[26] Hilbert's numerous peer recognitions span from awards for visual infographics,[27] and written interviews,[28] to an endowed chair position at the Library of Congress,[29] and ranked at the 'Top-100 Best Online Courses of ALL TIMES,[30] as well as two awards for online teaching from the University of California Office of the President's Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (ILTI).