Starmer's AI tsar invested in firm given £2.3m government contract to snoop on social media
The Government's artificial intelligence tsar was an investor in a company awarded a £2.3 million of taxpayers' money to create a platform that trawls social media for 'concerning' posts.
Matt Clifford, the Prime Minister's AI opportunities adviser, was an investor in Faculty Science until mid-January and has now closed this position.
The London-based AI company was awarded a multimillion-pound contract by the Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in November 2024 to build software which can search for 'foreign interference', detect deepfakes and 'analyse social media narratives' online.
The platform is part of the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) which was set up in 2019 and sparked widespread criticism for amassing files on journalists, academics and MPs who challenged the government's narrative during the pandemic.
The unit has since been rebranded the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) and its links to intelligence agencies allows it to avoid intense public scrutiny.
The Telegraph last weekend revealed the government contract to create the Counter Disinformation Data Platform (CDDP) and on Monday the DSIT published an update to Mr Clifford's declaration of interests stating his position as a Faculty investor was 'now divested in full'.
Mr Clifford is leading the Government's AI strategy and authored the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which was published on Jan 13. The process of divesting shares was started later that week.
It is unknown how large the personal investment was of Mr Clifford and if he sold the shares for profit.
Changes to his contract, available online, now state any shareholding changes or sales must be approved by DSIT's permanent secretary.
He will also now have to recuse himself from any procurement decisions.
Analysis by Tussel on behalf of The Telegraph reveals that Mr Clifford has 40 other private shareholdings, and 10 of these have also received taxpayer money, totalling more than £7.75 million since 2016.
However, none of these companies have received money directly from the DSIT, the department for science which Mr Clifford has had a role with since 2023.
Mr Clifford is a successful tech entrepreneur who the Government deliberately sought out to help spearhead their own artificial intelligence ambitions.
In 2022, he was appointed as chairman of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), the £800 million research and development funding agency that is designed to select ambitious projects in which to invest government money.
In 2023, the Conservative government brought Mr Clifford in to participate in the AI Safety Institute Advisory Board, and in 2024 the Labour government charged Mr Clifford with delivering a new AI Opportunities Plan, which saw him recommend a new unit, dubbed UK Sovereign AI to 'incubate and spin out AI companies'.
But his role with Faculty Science remains unknown at a time when the DSIT is under criticism for funding the counter disinformation platform which critics say could be used to snoop on the social media posts of British people.
An executive summary for the project states: 'While the CDDP has a current national security focus, the tool has the ability to be pivoted to focus on any priority area.'
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, warned that the Government was still refusing to publish 'huge swathes of information' about the platform.
'Whitehall must be transparent about how its Counter Disinformation Unit plans to use AI to monitor social media, when millions of pounds of public money have been poured into its operation,' he said at the weekend.
'NSOIT's predecessor, the Counter Disinformation Unit, was caught tracking criticism from journalists, activists and even MPs in an assault on free speech, but the Government is still trying to hide this unit in the shadows. There is a risk that the Ministry of Truth lives on.
'Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and with vast amounts of taxpayers' cash on the line, it is time for the Government to be clear on how it monitors social media, and whether it is pressuring social media companies to censor the public's lawful speech.'
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