a href="https://www.itpro.com/630061/top-10-facts-about-wikipedia" target="_blank"]Wikipedia[/a] co-founder Jimmy Wales is set to take up an advisory role for the UK Government.
Wales' agreement to take on the unpaid position was revealed at this week's South by South West (SXSW) conference in Texas, with senior advisor to David Cameron, Rohan Silva, tweeting the appointment.
The Cabinet Office confirmed the move to IT Pro.
Wales will work with the Cabinet Office to give recommendations on how technology can aid the policy making process within Government - something the current administration is working towards making a more open process.
The main thrust of the role is to take part in the Government's crowdsourcing initiative, encouraging more members of both the civil service and the public to give their views on Government policy.
Known as Jimbo' online, the new advisor co-founded the internet encyclopedia website with Larry Sanger back in 2001. He is a member of the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and on the advisory board of the MIT Centre for Collective Intelligence.
IT Pro contacted Wales for comment but he had not responded to our request at the time of publication.
A government spokesman told the Telegraph: "Mr Wales will act as an unpaid adviser to Government to support its agenda to open up policy-making to the public.
"He will advise Government on developing innovative new ways technology can be used to give the public a greater say in the policy-making process."
-
AI security blunders have cyber professionals scramblingNews Growing AI security incidents have cyber teams fending off an array of threats
-
Pure Storage wants to simplify storage for the AI eraAnalysis The firm’s Storage as a Service offering is paying dividends, so it wants to strike while the iron is hot
-
‘A major step forward’: Keir Starmer’s £187 million tech skills drive welcomed by UK industryNews The ‘TechFirst’ program aims to shore up the UK’s digital skills to meet future AI needs
-
Government’s ‘Humphrey’ AI tool helps local authorities cut costsNews The Minute tool, part of the Humphrey AI assistant, is being trialled at 25 councils
-
The UK government hopes AI will supercharge public sector digital transformation – IT leaders aren’t so sureNews Research from SolarWinds shows public sector transformation is progressing at a snail's pace despite IT leaders pushing for rapid improvements.
-
Starmer bets big on AI to unlock public sector savingsNews AI adoption could be a major boon for the UK and save taxpayers billions, according to prime minister Keir Starmer.
-
UK government targets ‘startup’ mindset in AI funding overhaulNews Public sector AI funding will be overhauled in the UK in a bid to simplify processes and push more projects into development.
-
UK government signs up Anthropic to improve public servicesNews The UK government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Anthropic to explore how the company's Claude AI assistant could be used to improve access to public services.
-
The UK’s AI ambitions face one major hurdle – finding enough home-grown talentNews Research shows UK enterprises are struggling to fill AI roles, raising concerns over the country's ability to meet expectations in the global AI race.
-
US government urged to overhaul outdated technologyNews A review from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found legacy technology and outdated IT systems are negatively impacting efficiency.
