Dr Angie Ma, co-founder of Faculty with Dr Marc Warner and Andy Brookes in 2014. Ma, who holds a PhD in physics and applied optics from UCL, previously served as Faculty’s chief operating officer and chief people officer.
The London-based firm began as a fellowship to help academics become commercial data scientists. It now provides software and consulting to businesses, with clients including HSBC, Tide and John Lewis.
Ma shares some of Faculty’s experiences working with the public and private sector. Faculty has previously worked with the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Home Office to combat the spread of ISIS propaganda.
“Businesses might be rushing to implement AI tools, which is exciting, but that means there is a risk of getting caught up in the hype cycle,” says Ma.
In a year in which much of the world goes to the polls, Ma says it’s “right for the public and people to be concerned about the role of AI and how it plays into our democracy”.
While she acknowledges the threat posed by deepfakes, Ma believes there is an “opportunity” for AI to improve education in the democratic process.
Faculty was controversially paid by Vote Leave to provide services during the 2016 Brexit referendum, but said it stopped doing political work in 2019. Ma describes how the subsequent media attention was “distracting” Faculty from its core work.
Elsewhere on the show, Ma – a self-professed “productivity junkie” – shares some of her tips and tools for being an efficient founder and also which offers flexible banking solutions for startups, scaleups, growth businesses, investors and those working towards IPO.
Ma is presented in a UKTN Podcast which will be speaking to some of the key movers and shakers from UK tech to learn growth strategies from both seasoned and up-and-coming founders, along with market sentiments from investors, and question policymakers on the decisions impacting the country’s innovation economy.
(Source: UKTN)