Tech entrepreneur Ian Hogarth will head UK’s AI taskforce to look into risks

The British government said on Sunday that tech entrepreneur Ian Hogarth would head its new taskforce to look at the safety risks posed by artificial intelligence.

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pitched London as a potential global home of AI regulation, with Britain set to host a summit on its risks later this year.

Hogarth, who co-founded concert discovery service SongKick, which was sold to Warner Music in 2017, has been chosen to lead the UK’s AI Foundation Model Taskforce with the brief of taking forward cutting-edge safety research in the run up to that summit.

“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,” Hogarth said in a statement.

“I’m honored 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 pounds ($128.17 million) towards setting up the taskforce, which will look at the risks around AI and carry out research on safety. It will also help with the development of international protections, such as shared safety and security standards and infrastructure.

“The more artificial intelligence progresses, the greater the opportunities are to grow our economy and deliver better public services,” Sunak said in the statement.

“But with such potential to transform our future, we owe it to our children and our grandchildren to ensure AI develops safely and responsibly.”