Ian Hogarth

Summary

Ian Hogarth CBE is an investor and entrepreneur. He co-founded Songkick in 2007[1] and Plural Platform in 2021.[2] Hogarth is the current Chair of the UK Government's AI Foundation Model Taskforce, which conducts artificial intelligence safety research.[3]

Education edit

Hogarth attended Dulwich College, before studying information engineering at the University of Cambridge. He later specialised in machine learning during his Masters.[4][5][6] Hogarth also spent time at Tsinghua University in Beijing, learning Mandarin Chinese.[6]

Entrepreneurship and investing edit

Songkick edit

Hogarth founded live music startup Songkick with friends Michelle You and Pete Smith in 2007. This was part of the 2007 Y Combinator program in Boston. Hogarth and his fellow Songkick co-founders were named to Inc. magazine's 30-under-30 list in 2010.[7] The same year, Hogarth won the British Council’s UK Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year award.[8] He was also named one of Forbes magazine's 2012 music 30-under-30.[9]

In 2013, Songkick launched Detour, a crowdfunding platform for concerts.[10]

In June 2015, Songkick announced its merger with direct ticket vendor CrowdSurge and a $16.6m Series C investment round. Hogarth became co-CEO of the combined company, alongside Matt Jones, the former CrowdSurge CEO.[11]

Silicon Milkroundabout edit

In 2010, Hogarth and Songkick COO Pete Smith founded Silicon Milkroundabout, a career fair for high tech startups in East London.[12] It was established in response to lack of interest from graduates hampering tech start-ups, according to Hogarth.[13]

Plural Platform edit

Hogarth co-founded Plural Platform in 2021, an early stage venture capital firm.[14] Hogarth has invested in more than 150 companies,[15] including over 50 AI companies.[6]

Artificial intelligence edit

Hogarth has co-written the State of AI report since 2018 with Nathan Benaich.[16][17] He wrote a blog post entitled AI Nationalism about the rise of machine learning influencing a new kind of geopolitics.[18] He also wrote a viral article in the Financial Times arguing that the "race to God-like AI" poses risks, and might lead to human extinction.[19][16] Hogarth was listed as one of the 100 most influential personalities in artificial intelligence by the magazine Time in 2023.[16]

AI Safety Institute edit

On 18 June 2023, Hogarth was announced as Chair of the UK Government's Foundation Model Taskforce, an AI safety research organization.[3] This AI safety research is mainly focused on "near-term" risks such as AI-enabled cyberattacks or pathogen generation.[16] The role reports directly to the Prime Minister and the Technology Secretary, and it has a government budget of £100 million.[3] After the AI safety summit, the Foundation Model Taskforce evolved and was renamed the AI Safety Institute (AISI), with Hogarth remaining its Chair.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ "MediaGuardian 100 2013". The Guardian. 1 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Plural Thinking: A New Fund Is Recruiting Seasoned Entrepreneurs To Build A Scalable European VC Platform". Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Tech entrepreneur Ian Hogarth to lead UK's AI Foundation Model Taskforce". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  4. ^ "About". Ian Hogarth. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  5. ^ Ben Sisario (1 May 2011). "A Go-to Site for Tracking Music Acts". The New York Times.
  6. ^ a b c "Ian Hogarth". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  7. ^ Jason Del Ray. "Michelle You, Ian Hogarth, and Pete Smith, Founders of Songkick". Inc Magazine.
  8. ^ "Songkick founder scoops young music entrepreneur gong". Music Ally. 20 May 2010.
  9. ^ Zack O’Malley Greenburg. "30 under 30: Music". Forbes Magazine.
  10. ^ Will Smale (17 June 2013). "Organise a concert by your favourite band". BBC.
  11. ^ Stuart Dredge (4 June 2015). "Songkick and CrowdSurge merge to make a splash in live music market". The Guardian. London.
  12. ^ Gabriella Griffith (23 February 2012). "Songkick founder Ian Hogarth on making money in music and east London tech scene trends". London Loves Business.
  13. ^ "IT Takes On The City: Silicon Milkroundabout Aims For Top Graduates". HuffPost UK. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Ian Hogarth". Plural. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  15. ^ "The AI Revolution is Just Beginning (with Nathan Benaich and Ian Hogarth)". Harvard Business Review. 17 November 2021. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d "TIME100 AI 2023: Ian Hogarth". Time. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  17. ^ Hogarth, Ian; Benaich, Nathan. "State of AI Report 2023". www.stateof.ai. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  18. ^ Hogarth, Ian (13 June 2018). "AI Nationalism". Ian Hogarth. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  19. ^ Hogarth, Ian (12 April 2023). "We must slow down the race to God-like AI". Financial Times.
  20. ^ "Prime Minister launches new AI Safety Institute". GOV.UK. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2024.