Anthropic has hired Matt Clifford, the architect of the UK government's AI strategy, as its managing director of international affairs, prompting Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee to demand clarity on how conflicts of interest will be managed. Clifford intends to keep his role as chair of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), a publicly funded body that backs high-risk research, much of it AI-related, while simultaneously leading Anthropic's dealings with governments outside North America. Committee chair Dame Chi Onwurah said this dual role creates a "clear conflict of interest" and called on the AI Minister to set out robust safeguards to protect ARIA's independence.

Clifford wrote the government's "AI Opportunities Action Plan" in July 2024, all 50 recommendations of which were adopted after its January 2025 publication, and he was subsequently made the government's AI Opportunities Adviser. He has chaired ARIA, modelled on the US agency DARPA, since 2022, and also retains a role at venture capital firm Entrepreneurs First, though he says he is stepping back from other commitments and plans to recuse himself from Anthropic-related ARIA matters. Announcing the move on X, Clifford said he would be based in London, working with governments across Europe and Asia-Pacific, and argued that shaping AI's impact requires collaboration between industry, governments and civil society.