Crisis at the heart of British artificial intelligence; Alan Turing Institute on the eve of collapse?

ATI was established in 2008 with the aim of expanding research in the field of artificial intelligence and data mining, and was supposed to be a decent memorial to Alan Turing, mathematician and legendary World War II and the famous Turing test. But now the British government insists that the institute should focus on security, defense and cooperation with intelligence agencies.

• Employees have warned in a letter that more than £ 5m will be cut off from ATI.
• About 3 people (1 % of employees) have been exposed.
• Projects in the field of health, online safety and reduction of social inequality have been closed.

British Technology Minister Peter Kyle in an explicit letter to the ATI Board of Directors has called for national security and defense to become the main pillar of institute activities. He has also suggested the possibility of a change in the leadership team and warned that the continuation of the government budget will depend on the results of these changes next year.

Doug Gore, chairman of the ATI board and former British Amazon manager, has emphasized that the institute is ready for “national need” and will strengthen cooperation with security and defense agencies. However, he has promised that environmental and health projects will continue as much as possible.

Some professors at Cambridge and Southampton universities have warned that one -sided focus on security, scientific identity and international status in the field of artificial intelligence. They say the strength of the Turing Institute is in the variety of projects and solving social challenges, not just the security function.

The current crisis of the Alan Turing Institute has posed a serious question to the British scientific and political community: should the Turing legacy be reduced to a mere security and defense tool, or remain as a symbol of open and multi -faceted research in the field of artificial intelligence?