The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) spokesperson mentioned the institute “is an independent organisation and has been consulting on changes to refocus its work under its Turing 2.0 strategy”.
“The changes set out in his letter would do exactly that, giving the Institute a key role in safeguarding our national security and positioning it where the British public expects it to be,” they mentioned.
It comes after Kyle urged the Turing Institute to deal with defence analysis and recommended funding could be pulled until it modified.
Kyle additionally desires an overhaul of its management. Any shift to specializing in defence could be a big pivot for the publicly funded organisation, which was given a grant of £100m by the earlier Conservative authorities final yr.
Founded in 2015 because the UK’s main centre of AI analysis, the Turing Institute has been rocked by inside discontent and criticism of its analysis actions.
In the grievance, the workers mentioned Kyle’s letter had triggered “a crisis in governance”.
The authorities’s £100m grant was “now at risk of being withdrawn, a move that could lead to the institute’s collapse”, the grievance mentioned.
The Turing Institute instructed the BBC it was endeavor “substantial organisational change to ensure we deliver on the promise and unique role of the UK’s national institute for data science and AI”.
“As we move forward, we’re focused on delivering real world impact across society’s biggest challenges, including responding to the national need to double down on our work in defence, national security and sovereign capabilities,” mentioned a spokesperson.
The BBC has been instructed the Turing Institute has not obtained notification of a grievance and has not seen the letter despatched by workers.
A Charity Commission spokesperson mentioned: “We are currently assessing concerns raised about the Alan Turing Institute to determine any regulatory role for us.”
They mentioned it’s within the early levels of this evaluation and has not determined whether or not to launch a proper authorized investigation.