Architect of UK’s AI policy quits after Anthropic conflict of interest concerns

Matt Clifford said he was stepping down to ensure his Anthropic role ‘doesn’t become a distraction’ for the government’s AI research unit. Photograph: Zuma Press/Alamy

The chair of the UK government’s “moonshot” science and technology research unit has been forced to stand down after taking a job with the San Francisco AI firm Anthropic, in a move senior MPs called a “clear conflict of interest”.

Matt Clifford announced last week that he was taking a full-time job working for the company behind the Claude chatbot, “leading its engagement” with governments outside the US – including the UK. But he retained his leadership at the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which funds frontier science and tech projects.