Turing turmoil: our great hope to lead the world in Al is at war with itself

Ministers are worried, partners are mulling legal action, and top managers are accused of losing their grip

- Patricia Clarke

In March last year, then chancellor Jeremy Hunt awarded £100m to the Alan Turing Institute in the hope that it would be at the forefront of British capability in artificial intelligence. Yet just over a year later, the Alan Turing Institute is at war with itself.

Staff have accused leaders of presiding over chaos; universities are threatening legal action over cancelled partnerships; and funders are reconsidering support. In December 2024, a letter of no confidence in the leadership was signed by 93 staff.

And last week “serious concerns” were raised in a whistleblowing complaint to the Charity Commission, which has yet to launch an inquiry.

Ministers, too, are losing patience. Last month, the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, called for new leadership. He told the institute to pivot toward defence, national security and “sovereign capabilities” - and threatened to pull funding if it did not. Public sector funding represents almost half of the Turing’s annual income of more than £50m.

Yet on Friday, Turing’s chair, Doug Gurr, a former UK boss of Amazon who joined in 2022, stopped short of committing to either a change in leadership or a defence-focused mission.

A former McKinsey consultant, Gurr also chairs the Competition and Markets Authority and is director of the Natural History Museum.

At the centre of much of the unrest is the leadership of Dr Jean Innes, who joined as chief executive in July 2023 to spearhead a strategic overhaul known as “Turing 2.0”.

“There was never a clear vision or strategy,” said one employee about the early days. “The assumption seemed to be that if a critical mass of smart people gathered, things would just work.”