Key facts
- Matt Clifford, chair of the UK's Aria, resigned after taking a job with AI firm Anthropic.
- Concerns were raised by MPs about a conflict of interest between his government and private sector roles.
- Clifford will remain at Aria until November 6 with safeguards against potential conflicts.
- The move highlights a 'revolving door' between government and AI companies.
- AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton warned of the risks of superintelligence and supported a bill to prohibit its creation.
Matt Clifford, the chair of the UK government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), has resigned from his position following concerns over a conflict of interest. Clifford announced last week that he would be taking a full-time role with the AI firm Anthropic, leading its government engagement outside the US, including in the UK. He had, however, retained his leadership at Aria, an agency that funds frontier science and technology projects.
The move sparked immediate criticism from senior MPs. Chi Onwurah, the Labour chair of the Commons science, innovation and technology committee, described the situation as a “clear conflict of interest” in a letter to AI minister Kanishka Narayan. Onwurah welcomed Clifford’s resignation but stated that questions remain regarding how the situation arose, the conflict of interest assessments conducted, and the safeguards in place for Aria’s governance.
Clifford stated that he decided to step down to prevent his new role at Anthropic from becoming a distraction for Aria’s work. He will remain in his position until November 6, with appropriate safeguards against potential conflicts in place. Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer and critic of government AI policy, welcomed the resignation, emphasizing the need for a clear separation between tech interests and those of citizens and the nation to rebuild trust.
The situation highlights a broader trend of a “revolving door” between government positions and roles in AI companies. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak has taken positions with Anthropic and Microsoft, and former chancellor George Osborne works for OpenAI. This follows Nick Clegg’s senior role at Meta. Tom Brake, CEO of Unlock Democracy, noted that transferring sensitive AI policy knowledge to the private sector could weaken the government’s stance on a precautionary approach to AI development.
Separately, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton reiterated concerns about the race for increasingly powerful AIs, supporting a private member’s bill in the UK parliament aimed at prohibiting the creation of artificial superintelligence and warning of potential human extinction if control is lost. Clifford, a pivotal figure in the UK tech scene and co-founder of venture capital firm Entrepreneurs First, was appointed chair of Aria in 2022 and played a key role in organizing the 2023 AI safety summit.