Latest news with #FacultyAI
Scotsman
12-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Leonardo partners with Faculty AI to accelerate the development of next generation defence technologies
The UK arm of defence and security company Leonardo, which has a site at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh, has formed a partnership with Faculty AI, one of the country's leading independent AI companies. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The companies will pool their expertise to bring AI-driven defence capabilities, such as Cognitive Intelligent Sensing (CoInS) and Electronic Warfare (EW), out of the lab and into the hands of the armed forces more rapidly. CoInS technology incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to process and analyse real-time data. Cognitive sensing systems are used in countless applications such as industrial robotics, brain-computer interface (BCI) and human-computer interaction (HCI). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The first joint projects will focus on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into CoInS and the technology will allow sensors to self-orientate themselves without the need for humans to operate them remotely. This investment is part of the company's strategic roadmap for AI in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) research and development, which will see the technology embedded into a number of products and services. Professor Simon Harwood. Leonardo and Faculty AI will also be looking at how AI can boost the capabilities of electronic warfare payloads and countermeasures for combat aircraft, building on the international market success of Leonardo's BriteCloud decoy and BriteStorm jamming system. The tie-up with Faculty AI is the first under Leonardo's UK-based SME Collaboration Partner Programme, which was launched in March alongside commercialisation specialists Form1 Partners. The programme aims to address the long-standing problem in the defence industry whereby small and medium-sized companies find it challenging to translate innovation into market success. Under the SME Collaboration Partner Programme, a dedicated Leonardo-Form1 team is looking to work with a range of small and medium enterprise partners around the UK to bring collaborative products and services to market. Leonardo has previously contracted Faculty AI to support specific research projects in autonomy and electronic warfare. By deepening the relationship, to include joint product development and customer engagement, the companies expect to be able to accelerate the pace at which AI can be applied to defence requirements. The underlying focus will be on practical outcomes, using AI to improve the performance and time-to-market of new products and services. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Leonardo will also deploy Faculty AI's technology and expertise to improve its own processes and operations at its nine UK sites. It will sponsor multiple 'Faculty Fellowships', short-term industry placements for graduating PhD and MSc students. These will deliver impactful AI-based projects within Leonardo programmes, backed by support and training from Faculty AI's team of experts. Leonardo will also deploy AI to improve its operations around the UK, ramping up capacity in response to the growth in demand for defence and security. Professor Simon Harwood, Capability Director, Leonardo UK, said: 'Our goal is to move beyond a transactional prime-supplier relationship. We'll be looking for opportunities where Leonardo's expertise in defence electronics sensors and integration, military rotorcraft and cyber security can incorporate the AI expertise of Faculty to deliver something of tangible benefit to our customers.' Marc Warner, CEO, Faculty AI, said:'We've used AI to solve frontline problems for a decade and are world-leading experts in this field. AI is already reshaping defence - enabling faster, more accurate decision-making, improved threat detection, and greater operational efficiency. This collaboration underscores our mission to deliver AI to enhance national security while ensuring it is deployed safely and ethically'
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Beeban Kidron joins calls against PM's AI tsar over tech-firm interests
Beeban Kidron, the film director who is campaigning against government plans to overhaul copyright rules for AI companies, has become the latest high-profile figure to complain about the role being played by the prime minister's AI tsar, Matt Clifford. Lady Kidron, an award-winning film director whose work includes Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, said ministers were only listening to people who stood to benefit from the controversial proposals, which will take another step forward on Tuesday. Clifford, a technology investor who is advising Keir Starmer on his AI strategy, continues to hold shares in dozens of AI companies, attracting criticism from anti-corruption campaigners. Ministers will on Tuesday close a consultation on whether they should make it easier for AI companies to train their algorithms on creative content such as films, songs and books – proposals which have sparked a backlash from cultural heavyweights such as Sir Elton John. Kidron said Clifford's appointment was part of a pattern of behaviour whereby the government pays more attention to the technology industry than those who stand to be affected by it. She said: 'It is for Peter Kyle [the technology secretary] and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to explain why they are taking advice exclusively from tech sector people such as Matt Clifford.' She added: 'It is obvious, that if you only listen to those who stand to benefit from a policy then you will hear that it is a great idea … This is a shameful policy based on lobbyist numbers and takes no account of the national interest.' Kidron's comments add to concerns among campaigners against the proposed changes that they are being sidelined in favour of corporate interests. Clifford began working as Starmer's AI adviser last year, having also advised his predecessor, Rishi Sunak. As an investor in technology stocks, he holds shares in dozens of companies in the AI sector, including many British startups. He is also the chair of Entrepreneur First, an investment firm he set up, which has holdings in more than 100 companies of its own. The government announced on Monday, however, that Clifford had sold all his shares in Faculty AI, the strategy company which has worked closely with the government on AI safety, the NHS and education. Downing Street defended Clifford, saying he had stuck to government disclosure rules since taking up his role. The prime minister's spokesperson said: 'He has followed the process … There is a process on appointment where you declare all of your interests, you work through necessary mitigations to manage any interests.' Sources have told the Guardian that Clifford has agreed not to buy or sell any of the companies he part-owns while working for the government, or to be involved in decisions on new investments made by Entrepreneur First. In the coming weeks, ministers will have to decide how easy they want it to be for AI companies to access creative content to build their models. The government has said it wants such content to be available by default, with an option to opt out of any such arrangement. But industry figures including John have argued it should instead be an opt-in system.
