Minister demands overhaul of UK’s leading AI institute
Peter Kyle calls for new leadership at Alan Turing Institute and greater focus on defence and national security
The technology secretary has demanded an overhaul of the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute in a wide-ranging letter that calls for a switch in focus to defence and national security, as well as leadership changes.
Peter Kyle said there was a clear need for additional steps to ensure the government-backed Alan Turing Institute reached its full potential. In a letter to the ATI president, seen by The Guardian, Kyle said the institute should be reworked to prioritize defense, national security, and "sovereign capabilities," referring to the ability of nation states to control their own artificial intelligence technology. The call for new priorities implies a reduction in the ATI's focus on health and the environment, two of the institute's three core themes, along with defense and security, under its "Turing 2.0" strategy.
“Looking ahead, defense and national security projects must form a central focus of ATI’s activities, and relationships with the UK security, defense, and intelligence communities must be strengthened accordingly,” Kyle wrote. After clarifying that the Turing 2.0 strategy did not meet the government’s requirements, Kyle indicated that he expected changes in ATI’s leadership. “To realize this vision, it is imperative that ATI’s leadership reflects the institute’s renewed focus,” he wrote in a letter first published by Politico. “While we recognize the success of the current leadership in implementing reform at the institute during a challenging period, careful consideration must be given to the importance of an executive team with the relevant experience and sector knowledge to lead this transition.”
ATI is chaired by Doug Gurr, the former head of Amazon's UK operations and interim chairman of the UK competition watchdog. The institute is undergoing a restructuring under its chief executive, Jean Innes, which, according to one in five employees, seriously jeopardizes ATI's credibility. At the end of last year, ATI had 440 employees but has since begun a process of redundancy. Although the institute is nominally independent, it recently secured £100 million from the government in a five-year funding agreement. The letter indicated that ATI's long-term funding agreement could be reviewed next year. The government would maintain its current level of national security and defense research and development for the next three years, Kyle wrote, and increase the defense and national security staff embedded within the institute.
Dame Wendy Hall, a professor of computer science at the University of Southampton and co-chair of a 2017 government review of AI, said the ATI would cease to be a national institute under the government's proposed changes. "If the institute focuses on defense and security, it ceases to be a national AI institute," Hall said. "It's not broad enough. If the government wants a dedicated defense and security AI institute, it should just call it that." In February, the government signaled a focus on national security with its AI strategy by renaming its AI Security Institute, created under Rishi Sunak, the AI Security Institute.
Kyle's letter also referred to the government's 50-point AI action plan as a "testament" to the UK's AI ambitions. The plan's goals include a 20-fold increase in the amount of AI computing power under public control by 2030 and integrating AI into the public sector. An ATI spokesperson said the institute was focused on "high-impact missions" that support the UK, including in defense and national security. "We share the government's vision for AI to transform the UK for the better, welcome the recognition of our critical role, and will continue to work closely with the government to support its priorities and deliver science and innovation for the public good," the spokesperson said.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology stated that the changes would be the "natural next step" for ATI following the security institute's name change. "These proposed changes would not only ensure the Alan Turing Institute delivers true value for money, but would also see it take on a key role in protecting our national security," the spokesperson said.
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