Jade Leung, Chief Technology Officer at the AI Security Institute (AISI), has been named the Prime Minister’s new AI adviser, succeeding Matt Clifford, who stepped down in June. 

Leung will advise on how the UK captures the benefits of ‘transformative AI’ while preparing for its risks, aligning with the Government’s Plan for Change. She will report directly to the Prime Minister and to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, dividing her time between Downing Street and AISI. 

The appointment comes as the government moves from strategy to delivery on its AI Opportunities Action Plan — a programme aiming to boost growth and public-sector productivity through AI, underpinned by long-term compute, data and planning reforms (including data centres). An early focus is expanding state-backed AI compute and improving access to high-quality datasets for research and industry. 

Leung previously worked at OpenAI between 2021–2023 in governance and policy roles, including as governance lead, and earlier co-founded the Centre for the Governance of AI at the University of Oxford. She holds a DPhil from Oxford and was a Rhodes Scholar. 

She will replace Matt Clifford, who had advised Number 10 on AI since January and helped shape the AI Opportunities Action Plan before stepping down for personal reasons in June. His brief included accelerating public-sector adoption and scoping the UK’s long-term AI infrastructure. 

The new role for Leung lands amid intensifying global activity on AI safety and governance, with her experience likely to be key in helping shape the UK Government’s policy.