Is No 10 waking up to dangers of artificial intelligence?

James Phillips is a weirdo and a misfit. At least, he was one of those who responded to a request by Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's former chief of staff, for exactly such people to work in No 10. Phillips worked as a technology adviser in Downing Street for two and a half years, during which time he became increasingly concerned that ministers were not paying enough attention to the risks posed by the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence. "We are still not talking enough about how dangerous these things could be," says Phillips, who left government last year when Johnson quit. "The level of concern in government has not yet reached the level of concern that exists in private within the industry."