Matt Clifford is stepping down from his role as UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s advisor on AI six months after taking on the job.
Clifford, the cofounder and former CEO of talent accelerator Entrepreneurs First (EF), was appointed to the role in January to oversee efforts to ‘revolutionise’ public services using AI.
Last year, he authored the government’s AI opportunities action plan, which outlines how the UK plans to invest in, and use, AI. It laid out 50 measures to boost the country’s AI potential — all of which the government said it will take forward.
In a LinkedIn post Clifford confirmed that he was stepping back from the role at the end of July for personal reasons.
“I have a sick family member who I need to spend more time with,” he said. “It’s been a very intense year […] and I need to rebalance a bit.”
Clifford said he’ll be keeping his roles as chair of EF and the UK’s R&D funding agency, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA).
“I intend to dedicate my career to making AI go well for the UK and the world. I feel I’ve played a small role in that so far, but there is so much more to do… Stay tuned,” he said.
Earlier this month the government pledged £2bn in funding for its AI strategy, as it looks to rapidly build out sovereign compute capabilities in the face of a widening technological gulf between the country and international rivals the US and China.
Clifford previously helped Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak organise the world’s first global AI safety summit in 2023. The incoming Labour government later recruited him to devise a new AI strategy, released on Monday.
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