It's time to build in government
Consider a tour of duty in government to regenerate state capacity & unlock progress
Dear SoTA,
On Monday 24th February, SoTA partnered with Civic Future for Building in Government, an event bringing together individuals who have undertaken short postings in government, delivered new capabilities, and launched organisations dedicated to driving forward technoscientific progress. Our aim: to compel SoTA’s community of promising scientists and technologists to action.
With almost 250 signups and a packed venue provided by Faculty, the supply of talent interested in regenerating state capacity in science & tech was overwhelming. In attendance was a range of mission-driven individuals across tech, entrepreneurship, academia and policy, discussing positioning the UK for the 21st & 22nd centuries and promoting system-level optimism about the opportunities generated by technological innovation.
Our panellists — James Phillips, Rob Murray, Nitarshan Rajkumar, and Munira Mirza — shared stories and strategies from building within government. They conceptualised and launched new institutions like the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), the AI Security Institute (AISI), the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA), along with efforts like the AI Safety Summit, the UK’s supercomputing programme, and producing the first model of rapid testing during Covid. These initiatives, while still in their infancy, have the potential to correct course for the UK and our allies. They signal a willingness to harness technological advancement as an engine for growth, prosperity, and security.
Such startup organisations are the direct result of high-agency, industrious, mission-driven individuals taking up tours of duty in government and rebooting state capacity. They provide compelling examples of the importance of “People, ideas, machines — in that order!”, as famously put by Col John Boyd; individuals who choose to do rather than just to be. Yet as we heard, progress is only possible when radical pockets are shielded within very large and typically sclerotic bureaucracies, and allowed to undergo the process of renewal and sometimes creative destruction.
Following the event, many of you asked, “How can we actually contribute now?”.
SoTA’s upcoming hackathon is our answer to that question – an opportunity to ship a concrete capability over a weekend, with direct feedback from end users and frontline operators across critical public functions. We hope to facilitate accelerated adoption of the most worthy solutions, in concert with government partners. Register your interest here.
One thing from this past week is abundantly clear: It’s Time to Build in Government.
Yours,
Jamie
Cofounder, SoTA
