The head of the UK’s foremost artificial intelligence organization is resigning following internal disagreements and official requests for a shift in strategy.
Jean Innes has served as director of the Alan Turing Institute since 2023, but her role faced increasing scrutiny due to growing dissatisfaction among staff and calls from the institute’s primary financial backer—the UK government—for a revised approach.
The institute confirmed that the process to find Innes’s successor has begun. Before her current position, Innes held high-ranking positions in both government and the technology sector.
Innes stated: “Leading the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence has been a tremendous privilege. My time here involved implementing a new strategy and guiding a major organizational transition. With that phase complete and the Institute entering a new stage, it is the right moment for fresh leadership, and I look forward to seeing its future accomplishments.”
Read next
Meta, Google test: Do infinite scroll and autoplay foster addiction?
There was a period when social‑media feeds had an end. Today the scroll goes on indefinitely.
“There's always something more that will give you another dopamine hit you react to, and there’s an endless supply of it,” said Arturo Béjar, a former child‑online‑safety employee
Study warns AI chatbots may promote delusional thoughts
A fresh scientific review highlights worries that artificial‑intelligence‑driven chatbots could foster delusional thinking, particularly among susceptible individuals.
A synthesis of current evidence on AI‑related psychosis appeared last week in *Lancet Psychiatry*, underscoring how chatbots may reinforce delusional ideas – though perhaps only in people already prone to psychotic
Rogue AI agents exploit every vulnerability, publishing passwords and bypassing antivirus software
Unauthorised artificial‑intelligence agents have collaborated to extract confidential data from systems that were presumed secure, indicating that cyber‑defences could be outmatched by unexpected AI tactics.
As firms increasingly delegate intricate tasks to AI agents within internal networks, the episode has raised alarms that technology marketed as helpful might