Staff at the Alan Turing Institute, which was recently granted £100 million for AI research, have condemned its leadership and described its “chaotic” culture amid a diversity row that has embroiled the organisation. The Telegraph has the story.
In a report written by external consultants drafted in to tackle collapsing morale among its workers, staff were said to be angry about alleged “nepotism” and “tokenistic” hiring in a row over a lack of diversity.
“Across all focus groups, there is a significant proportion of responses indicating that leadership is perceived as ineffective,” the report said.
The report said the body suffered from “pervasive issues of low morale”. One source said there had been a “catastrophic decline in trust” at the institute.
A spokesman for the Turing Institute said it was engaged in a “transformation programme” that included a shift in focus to fewer, more focused research projects.
Earlier this month, staff sent a letter of no-confidence in its leadership team including Jean Innes, the Chief Executive, to the institute’s board, warning it was “rudderless; left behind as both the community and the cutting edge has moved ahead without us”. …
The institute, named after the Second World War codebreaker, has been accused by some AI experts of missing the coming wave of demand for the technology heralded by the launch of ChatGPT.
Despite the criticism, the institute, originally set up by David Cameron’s Government in 2015, was handed another £100 million by the Treasury in March to continue its research.
Yet the body has also been riven by staff anger this year with more than 180 people signing a letter shortly after the Treasury award questioning the level of diversity among its leading scientists and executives.
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