UCL IIPP Visiting Professor Ian Hogarth to lead UK’s AI Foundation Model Taskforce

Bringing together expertise from government, industry and academia, the UK Government’s AI Foundation Model Taskforce will look at the risks surrounding AI. It will carry out research on AI safety and inform broader work on the development of international guardrails, such as shared safety and security standards and infrastructure, that could be put in place to address the risks.

Foundation models, including the large language models that power popular new services like ChatGPT, Google Bard and Claude, are general-purpose AI systems trained on massive data sets which can be applied to tasks across the economy.

The appointment brings a wealth of experience to developing this technology responsibly, which underpins the government’s AI strategy and follows the launch of the AI White Paper.

Ian Hogarth, Chair of the Foundation Model Taskforce, said:

UK scientists and entrepreneurs have made many important contributions to the field of AI, from Alan Turing through to AlphaFold. The Prime Minister has laid out a bold vision for the UK to supercharge the field of AI safety, one that until now has been under-resourced even as AI capabilities have accelerated. I’m honoured to have the chance to chair such an important mission in the lead up to the first global summit on AI Safety in the UK.

In April, the government committed an initial £100 million to set up the Foundation Model Taskforce, seizing the extraordinary opportunities presented by cutting-edge AI systems and advancing their safety and reliability.

The Taskforce will be modelled on the successes of the Vaccine Taskforce, operating with the same agility and delegated authority so the Chair and Taskforce are empowered to take forward work and make decisions at pace.

Technology Secretary Chloe Smith said:

"Our Foundation Model Taskforce will steer the responsible and ethical development of cutting-edge AI solutions, and ensure that the UK is right at the forefront when it comes to using this transformative technology to deliver growth and future-proof our economy. With Ian on board, the Taskforce will be perfectly placed to strengthen the UK’s leadership on AI, and ensure that British people and businesses have access to the trustworthy tools they need to benefit from the many opportunities artificial intelligence has to offer."

UCL IIPP Founding Director Professor Mariana Mazzucato said:

"Ian has been a Visiting Professor of Practice at IIPP since 2019 and continues to enrich our community with his impressive ability to bridge theory and practice. He has brought his rich experience – as founder of Songkick, co-author of the annual State of AI report, and author of the influential report on AI Nationalism – to IIPP’s network through his frequent public lectures and excellent blogs. We wish him the best of luck as chair of the UK’s AI Foundation Model Taskforce and look forward to continuing our work together."