Matt Clifford resigns as Aria chair over Anthropic role

The architect of the UK’s AI strategy, Matt Clifford, has resigned as chair of the publicly funded Advanced Research and Invention Agency, after an MP raised a conflict of interest concern over him joining the US firm Anthropic.

In a post on X today, Clifford announced that, “I have decided to step down to ensure my new role at Anthropic doesn’t become a distraction from Aria’s incredible work.” Clifford has been the agency’s founding chair since the agency’s inception in 2022.

Last week, Chi Onwurah, chair of the House of Commons’ Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, said that Clifford’s decision to remain Aria chair while taking a role managing international affairs at AI firm Anthropic represented a “clear conflict of interest”.

In his post, Clifford said that he would continue in the Aria role until 6 November as requested by the business and science secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, to give the government time to find a replacement.

“I’ve agreed to do this, with appropriate safeguards against potential conflicts in place,” he said, adding that the search will follow shortly.

While Onwurah called Clifford’s decision the “right” one, she warned that “however, important questions remain”.

“Last week, I wrote to the government seeking clarity on how this situation arose, what conflict of interest assessments were undertaken and what safeguards are in place to protect confidence in Aria’s governance,” she said.

“I expect a detailed response in the upcoming weeks.”

frances.jones@timeshighereducation.com