Ian Hogarth has been named the chair of the UK’s AI taskforce. Credit: GOVUK

The UK has announced that “renowned investor and specialist” Ian Hogarth will be heading up its new £100m artificial intelligence (AI) taskforce.

Britain’s Foundation Model Taskforce will be leading the country’s research into mitigating the risks of AI and creating models to make the most of the emerging technology’s benefits. 

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Hogarth’s appointment comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared his mission to make Britain a global home of AI regulation last week. 

The government has pledged to fund £100m into the new AI taskforce, which will reportedly be made up of experts throughout the industry and academia.

The newly appointed chair, Ian Hogarth, is best known for being co-founder of the popular concert discovery app Songkick.

Hogarth also co-founded Plural Platform, a venture capital firm that invests in new emerging technologies.

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The new AI taskforce lead also co-authors the annual UK State of AI report, which offers an overview of the AI industry and the advances that have occurred over the year. 

Hogarth co-founded his award-winning Songkick app after graduating from the University of Cambridge, where he studied AI.

“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 government-released statement.

Adding: “I’m honoured 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.”

As the newly appointed UK AI taskforce chair, Hogarth will be reporting directly to the PM and technology secretary Chloe Smith. 

In a statement, PM Rishi Sunak said: “As one of the leading figures in UK tech, it’s great to have Ian leading our expert taskforce, empowered with authority and agility to build our leadership in AI safety and development.”