About Appraise
Appraise (Advocacy and Policy Professionals for a Responsible Artificial Intelligence Sector) was founded in February 2023 in response to the growing public and government interest in AI – and the challenges we’ll need to overcome as a society.
As policy and advocacy professionals, experience tells us that if we don’t shape the agenda, it will be set for us. By building the evidence base around this area of policy, we want to promote responsible AI that benefits businesses, individuals and society. By providing a space for dialogue and debate, we can help support a vibrant AI sector in the UK.
Artificial intelligence is a transformational technology with incredible potential. But it also presents significant ethical and societal challenges that may affect public and policymaker trust. How AI is framed and debated will be critical to maintaining that trust and influencing policy.
Appraise conducts AI policy and advocacy research, and provides a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges of responsible AI. Our aim is to inform policies that balance innovation with accountability and ensure AI benefits society as a whole.
James Boyd-Wallis
Co-founder
James helps the innovators and entrepreneurs developing the technologies and industries of tomorrow to strengthen relationships, enhance reputation and engage in public policy.
From intelligent chatbots and automating marking for teachers to analysing the risk of fraud, many of his clients are at the forefront of developing AI use cases.
James is vice chair of the CIPR’s Public Affairs Group, a chartered PR practitioner and has completed an AI Policy Fellowship at the Institute of Policy Research at the University of Bath.
He occasionally writes about business, politics and policy for City AM, PR Week and The Daily Telegraph, among others, and has moderated panels on AI policy for the CIPR, Polaris Global and at the AI Summit. He is Managing Director of corporate and public affairs firm Highbury Communications.
Aidan Muller
Co-founder
Aidan has been helping organisations shape political and policy conversations for close to 20 years.
Trained as a journalist, he worked in government PR for seven years, including at Number 10, and as a strategic communications consultant for a further 10 years. He has advised some of the biggest organisations in the world on politically-sensitive issues.
A digital strategist by trade, Aidan is drawn to new technologies and their impact on society. He was part of the generation who introduced social media into government campaigning, and is a thought leader in policy communications and digital public affairs. He runs strategic communications firm Daimon Communications.
Audrey Hingle
Head of Communications
Audrey is an Internet Society Fellow, the Editor-in-Chief of the Internet Exchange newsletter and Managing Director of Internet Exchange’s feminist communications cooperative. Based in London, she is passionate about how people interact with technology and the internet, and how it can influence our lives for better (or worse).
Audrey has over 15 years of experience working in strategic communications, and previously served as Head of Marketing at the Mozilla Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting internet health and trustworthy technology. She holds a master’s degree in Digital Culture and Technology from King’s College London and is studying for an MSc in Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at UCL. She occasionally writes for Tech Policy Press.
