Former UK prime minister Sunak becomes human Clippy for Microsoft, Anthropic

Conservative MP told he must not lobby for corporations

Rishi Sunak is ready to kick-start his career with a couple of openings in the tech industry, a year after the end of his internship as the prime minister of the world's sixth-largest economy.

Following in the footsteps of Nick Clegg – a former UK deputy prime minister who took up a role at Meta after leaving office – Sunak was yesterday appointed as a senior adviser by Microsoft.

Known for creating systems that defy logic and often require a forced restart, Sunak will continue to serve as an MP on the Conservative backbenches.

Sunak is also set to take an advisory role at Anthropic, the AI startup. In a statement on Microsoft-owned platform LinkedIn, Sunak said: "Microsoft has driven productivity improvements for decades and Anthropic is one of the most exciting AI frontier labs.

"I have long believed that technology will transform our world and play a key part in determining our future. I am excited to help these two companies, as they address the big strategic questions about how to make tech work for our economies, our security and our society."

Belief is one thing. Evidence is quite another.

Serving as the UK finance minister in the spring of 2021, Sunak launched a pandemic-linked program to help move businesses online. It promised 100,000 small businesses a 50 percent discount on software worth up to £5,000 each. A total of £295 million was allocated to the project over three years. Yet in the spring of 2024, The Register uncovered that 7 percent of that figure had been spent – or £31.4 million.

Sunak says his salary for the tech advisory roles at Microsoft and Anthropic will be donated to a charity he set up with his wife Akshata Murty, the Infosys heiress.

Microsoft is well ensconced in Britain. Under a Memorandum of Understanding that kicked off in November last year, months after Sunak left office, the government's Crown Commercial Service said it expects a total of approximately £9 billion to be spent over the five years of the MoU, equating to around £1.9 billion a year.

A notification from the Office of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on Thursday said Sunak must not lobby ministers on behalf of corporations. It pointed out that Microsoft is also a major investor in the UK and, in Sunak's tenure as prime minister, a £2.5 billion investment was announced at the AI Safety Summit.

"You said that your role as a Senior Advisor to Microsoft would involve providing high-level strategic perspectives on macro-economic and geopolitical trends and how they intersect with technology and society. You will also speak at the annual Microsoft Summit. You noted that you will not be advising on any UK policy matters," the committee said [PDF].

If only he'd applied his "perspectives on macro-economic and geopolitical trends" during his 22 months as prime minister instead of being buffeted by the day's political turbulence.

In his role with Anthropic, Sunak once again embraces AI. He previously coined the dubious moniker of the "Unicorn Kingdom" to signify the UK's plans to nurture fast-growing start-ups via a £10 million ($12.4 million) spending boost for AI. Considering consultants at Bain & Company have estimated an investment of $500 billion a year is required to build out AI datacenters, the UK's contribution is unlikely to cover the cabling.

Nonetheless, we've all made mistakes. Remember Microsoft's Office Assistant, otherwise known as Clippy? It was prone to popping up at inopportune moments to offer unwanted advice.

The Register is comforted knowing Sunak – who always cut an awkward figure as prime minister – has found a place where he will at last fit in. ®