Government AI assistant named after ‘machiavellian’ sitcom legend

Actor Nigel Hawthorne, who played Sir Humphrey Appleby in ‘Yes, Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’, with the then PM Tony Blair outside Downing Street - (PA Archive)

Civil servants have dubbed a new AI system introduced to reduce millions spent on consultants “Humphrey” after the “machiavellian” adviser from Yes, Minister.

The bundle of tools, named after the fictional Whitehall official from the BBC sitcom, will look to boost productivity, replace “archaic” technology and save taxpayer-funded services as much as £45bn.