Turing AI Institute boss denies accusations of 'toxic internal culture'
The Alan Turing Institute Chair has told the BBC that there is no substance
to a number of serious allegations that rocked the company in the summer. Whistlers accused the charity's leadership of misusing public funds, establishing a toxic internal culture,
and failing to fulfill its mission. The Turing Institute, the UK's national body for artificial intelligence (AI), was on the verge of bankruptcy after Peter Kyle, then technology minister, threatened to withhold its £100 million funding. Chair Dr. Doug Gurr, who spoke exclusively to the BBC, said the whistleblower allegations had been independence investigated
by a third party, who found them to have "no substance.
he said.I completely understand that going through any transition is always difficult,
Every single one of those people has been independently investigated, and we haven't discovered any drug. He did not specify the third party who had supervised the probe. But Turing's woes go beyond the allegations themselves, with three senior executives, the chief technology officer, and most recently the CEO all leaving their roles. The Charity Commission is also investigating it, and Dr. Gurr gave no hint that if standing down would be a problem. Rather, he said he loved his work and was proud of what the company had achieved under his leadership.It's been tough for a lot of people, and a number of questions have been raised.
'We have fantastic talent'
Dr. Gurr acknowledged that it had been tough
for some employees, but that the Turing was now match fit.
We have two things in the United Kingdom that are truly unique,he said.
We have amazing talent and unbelievable data sets, so let's get to it, let't put our attention on the areas that really matter.
not exclusive,He sympathised with staff who had criticized their work under his leadership but did not apologize, but didnot apologize. He agreed with Kyle, the current business secretary, that the Institute should concentrate on defense, but that other initiatives focusing on environmental, sustainability, and health will continue. The current projects include increasing the accuracy of weather forecasting, lowering transportation emissions, and cardiac studies on human hearts using digital twins. Questions regarding the overlap between the Turing Institute's new direction and other UK departments doing similar work, such as UKRI and MOD, are also present in comparison to commercial tech firms. Dr Gurr said the company's defense service, which includes study into how best to protect the UK's national critical infrastructure, was
The world certainly seems to have become a much more dangerous place in the last couple of years,but that it was responding to a request at a time of need.
he said.I think the other thing that's become abundantly apparent when you look at some of the world's theaters of war is that technology and technology will play an increasingly important part in whatever form of hostilities occur.
But the original whistleblowers, who are now employed at the university, believe the Institute's reputation isThe Turing has a long history of working in these environments.
in tattersafter recent events. Because they are afraid of losing their jobs, they talked to me about anonymity.
This is not a new chapter for the Turing,they said.
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