Turing Institute Chief Scientist takes acting CEO role amid defense push

The Alan Turing Institute's Chief Scientist has temporarily stepped into the hot seat at the UK's flagship AI research organization after the long-flagged departure of CEO Jean Innes.

According to a statement from the Institute, "Professor Mark Girolami will be in post as acting CEO before handing over to a new CEO and resuming full duties as Chief Scientist."

He takes the reins from Dr Jean Innes, whose leadership of the Institute was rocked last year by an intervention from Peter Kyle, then Secretary of State for Science and Technology.

Kyle had demanded the Turing Institute focus on defense, national security, and sovereign capabilities. That represented a dramatic narrowing of its three-way focus on health, environment, and security, which had only been established a year earlier.

The minister had held the threat of defunding over the organization, warning that his department would only guarantee overall funding for the ...