Staff at Britain’s AI institute in open revolt – POLITICO

“The scientific leadership … has too often been left rudderless; left behind as both the community and the cutting edge has moved ahead without us, while we are publicly and privately criticised for being behind the curve,” wrote the letter’s authors.

“Not only are we at risk of missing an opportunity to play a key role in the landscape, we are more concerningly being led into a situation where the viability of the Institute is under question.” 

‘A new phase’

Despite the growing criticism, the Turing Institute had its funding renewed by the then-Conservative government at the beginning of the year.

It was promised £100 million over five years as long as it made changes, including overhauling its governance structures, setting out a clear business plan, and better defining its relationships with the wider research ecosystem.

“We are shaping a new phase for the Turing in line with an ambitious strategy set by our Board and endorsed by our core funder,” Jean Innes, CEO of the institute said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

“This will see us collaborating with partners across the ecosystem to use data science and AI to deliver real world impact on issues like climate and environmental change, improving health and protecting people from defence and security threats.”