Matt Clifford, the tech investor who drafted the UK government's artificial intelligence action plan, has taken a senior role at Anthropic, the American company behind the Claude chatbot.
Clifford stepped down as Sir Keir Starmer's unpaid AI opportunities adviser six months ago, citing personal reasons.
He joins Anthropic as managing director for international affairs, leading its engagement with governments across Europe, Asia-Pacific, India and the UK.
Mixed reaction
The appointment has drawn a mixed reaction, with some welcoming his expertise and others warning of a conflict of interest.
Chi Onwurah, who chairs the House of Commons science, innovation and technology committee, told the Guardian that Clifford remaining chair of Aria, the government-backed research funding body, while working for Anthropic was "a clear conflict of interest".
She called on the AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, to set out clear boundaries.
Clifford has led Aria since 2022 and is expected to step back from matters involving Anthropic, though he intends to keep the role.
He will also stay on as chair of Entrepreneurs First, the venture capital firm he co-founded, which has backed companies worth a combined more than $20 billion.
Revolving door
Tom Brake, chief executive of the campaign group Unlock Democracy, said the move showed "the revolving door is a problem for advisers as much as it is for ministers".
The crossbench peer Beeban Kidron said the case underlined the need for politics less shaped by the tech sector.
An Anthropic spokesperson defended the hire, saying the UK was "one of dozens" of governments Clifford's team would engage with.
Clifford previously represented Rishi Sunak's government at the 2023 AI Safety Summit and helped set up what became the AI Security Institute.
His move follows senior figures including Nick Clegg, Sunak and George Osborne taking roles at Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI respectively.
Anthropic is preparing for a stock market flotation that could value the company at $2 trillion.
