A TECH consultancy, which boasts major public contracts and has carried out tests for the government’s AI Safety Institute since 2023, is developing AI for military drones, it emerged today.

Faculty AI has at least £26.6 million worth of government contracts including with the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, according to official disclosures.

But announcing a partnership with the London-based firm, the British start-up Hadean revealed that the two companies are working together on “subject identification, tracking object movement and exploring autonomous swarming development, deployment and operations.”

Faculty AI has “experience developing and deploying AI models on to UAVs,” or unmanned aerial vehicles, said its defence industry partner company.

It is understood that Faculty’s work with Hadean did not include weapons targeting.

But today, Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Dr John Puntis warned: “AI holds great potential for improving healthcare, however, some close to Labour argue that AI technology provides the only solution for lifting the UK out of its current crises.

“An additional worry is that tech companies with NHS government contracts are simultaneously working in other fields inimicable to the public health, with development of lethal autonomous weapons systems being a case in point.”

A spokesperson for Faculty said: “We help to develop novel AI models that will help our defence partners create safer, more robust solutions,” adding that it has “rigorous ethical policies and internal processes” and follows ethical guidelines on AI from the Ministry of Defence.

Faculty AI worked on data analysis for the Vote Leave campaign under Dominic Cummings. Its biggest shareholder is a Guernsey-registered holding company.