Author of The AI Gap, UK Top 20 AI Researcher & Chair of MKAI
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Top rated!Richard Foster-Fletcher is the author of The AI Gap and one of the UK’s most prominent independent researchers exploring how artificial intelligence changes what organisations are capable of. Named among the UK’s Top 20 AI Researchers and Entrepreneurs in 2026 and recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice in AI, Richard chairs MKAI, the independent institute he founded in 2019 to research AI’s effect on organisational capability. His talks bring audiences close to the rapidly changing frontier of AI, connecting advances in reasoning and judgement with practical implications for executive decision-making, organisational performance and the future of what organisations can accomplish.
Richard Foster-Fletcher works at the intersection of advanced artificial intelligence, executive decision-making and organisational capability. As the author of The AI Gap, his focus is on a question that matters increasingly to leaders: as AI becomes more capable, what does that make an organisation capable of doing?
Rather than approaching AI purely as a technology story, Richard examines its impact on intelligence, judgement and decision-making inside organisations. His research explores how advances in AI can change what organisations understand, how leaders make decisions and what teams and institutions can ultimately accomplish.
Richard has been named among the UK’s Top 20 AI Researchers and Entrepreneurs in 2026 and is recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice in AI. He also chairs MKAI, the independent institute researching AI’s effect on organisational capability, which he founded in 2019.
Richard works directly with the latest generation of advanced AI systems, testing them at the limits of their reasoning and judgement. He works across models from leading AI labs and is regularly invited to evaluate new releases.
This firsthand research gives Richard a close view of how rapidly AI capabilities are developing, where current systems perform strongly and where important limitations remain. His work investigates what increasingly capable AI systems can contribute to executive decision-making and how advances in artificial intelligence expand the range of things organisations can understand, decide and accomplish.
For audiences trying to make sense of fast-moving developments in AI, Richard connects emerging technical capabilities to the questions facing leaders and organisations. His talks help turn advances in AI reasoning and judgement into a clearer understanding of what these changes could mean for organisational performance.
Through MKAI, Richard publishes independent empirical research into how advanced AI changes organisations. The institute provides a platform for examining AI through the lens of organisational capability, looking beyond individual tools to understand the broader implications of increasingly capable artificial intelligence.
His research is grounded in direct engagement with advanced AI systems. By testing models and examining their reasoning and judgement, Richard investigates the practical relationship between improvements in AI and improvements in what organisations themselves may be able to achieve.
His work centres on questions such as:
These questions give Richard’s talks relevance for executives, leadership teams and organisations that want to understand AI beyond the latest product announcement or technology trend.
Richard’s central area of research is the connection between advances in artificial intelligence and advances in organisational capability.
As AI systems become more capable of reasoning, analysing information and supporting judgement, organisations gain access to forms of intelligence that can influence how they operate and make decisions. Richard examines this shift with a particular focus on executive decision-making: where advanced AI can contribute, what leaders should understand about its capabilities and how improvements in AI may change the boundaries of organisational performance.
This makes his perspective especially relevant at a time when organisations are moving from asking what AI can generate to asking what it can help them understand and accomplish.
Richard brings the latest developments in AI intelligence and judgement into an organisational context, helping audiences see the connection between the capabilities emerging from leading AI labs and the decisions being made in boardrooms, leadership teams and institutions.
Richard Foster-Fletcher has advised UK Parliament and the United Nations on AI strategy, bringing his research and perspective into discussions about how institutions should understand and respond to advances in artificial intelligence.
He has also delivered talks for organisations and institutions including Salesforce, Telefónica, Oracle, ARM, the London School of Economics, Imperial College London, UCL and the University of Oxford.
This experience spans technology, business, policy and academia, reflecting the breadth of the questions raised by advanced AI. Whether addressing executives, researchers or institutional leaders, Richard focuses on making the implications of increasingly capable AI understandable and relevant to the decisions organisations face.
Book Richard Foster-Fletcher for a research-led perspective on what the latest advances in artificial intelligence mean for leaders and organisations.
Drawing on his work as an author, independent researcher and chair of MKAI, Richard connects developments at the frontier of AI with their implications for executive judgement, decision-making and organisational performance. His talks explore what happens as AI becomes better at reasoning and judgement, and what those advances could enable organisations to understand, decide and accomplish.
For audiences looking beyond AI hype towards the deeper question of organisational capability, Richard Foster-Fletcher offers a perspective grounded in independent empirical research and direct testing of advanced AI systems.
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“As the VP of Education at the Arm Cambridge Toastmasters I contacted Richard to deliver a speech for one of our contests. He was very approachable and collaborated with me to craft a speech that would suit and benefit the audience of our club. His speech was awesome and almost flawless! I loved listening to him delivering his speech with passion and enthusiasm. His speech was well constructed to hook the audience on to his topic and ended with a key message. Richard gave a test speech for our contestants to evaluate and I was listening to this speech with part of me thinking our contestants were going to have a tough time evaluating his speech! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard again for his support.”
Priyanka Thachakuzhiyil ViswanathanSenior Director at SiFive
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“Richard played a pivotal role in supporting me with an industry focused event that I ran in 2019. Not only was he a highly engaging and entertaining speaker on the day, he went above and beyond to assist from the initial planning of the session up until the day itself. Richard's energy and enthusiasm is underpinned by a solid understanding and expertise in the field of emerging technologies. I have no hesitation in recommending working with Richard, and look forward to doing so again myself.”
Nav BainsSenior Client Executive at NetApp
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“Richard was the opening speaker providing the keynote at the AI Dinner in May 2019 at the Radisson BLU on Mercer Street in London to members of the AI Facebook Community of Professionals. His keynote on bias in AI was full to capacity, well received and rated highly in our post event survey by those that paid to attend this event.”
Duncan GledhillB2B Email Data Specialist
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“Richard is an excellent public speaker with a deep understanding of new tech and its impact on peoples' lives. I met him during an AI dinner where we discussed the problem of bias in AI applications. As one of the organisers he made me feel welcome and comfortable and as a debater he pushed me to come up with nuanced and convincing answers to his incisive and thoughtful questions.”
Foivos D.Research Director – Unwritten
5 of 5
“From my first conversation with Richard I was immediately struck by how passionate and genuine he is in everything he does and each conversation since then has done nothing but support that first impression. The work he does with MKAI, as well as the Boundless podcast, to bring light to exciting things happening within the world of artificial intelligence is amazing and I honestly can't wait to follow whatever comes next as well as working with him on more projects in the future. I'd highly recommend Richard as a speaker, advisor and simply as a person!”
Jon Thor SigurleifssonCorporate Punk & Creative Nerd | Keynote Speaker
5 of 5
“Richard is one of the leaders in the technology and innovation space who continues to educate himself on what is transpiring in the industry. His knowledge and communication skills makes him a strong presenter as well as an excellent moderator for deep panel discussions around digital transformation, innovation, technological advancement and the future of work.”
Jim MarousTop 5 Retail Banking Influencer | Global Speaker | Podcast Host | Co-Publisher at The Financial Brand
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“It would be easy to describe Richard as an inspirational keynote speaker, an energetic and positive founder and a great podcast compere. And these would all be true. But to do so would miss something important and worth talking about. Richard is all about bringing the right people together and then inspiring them to do what they are best at. You can see it in his events, in his podcasts and in his keynote speeches. This positivity, respect and encouragement of everyone else is what makes Richard stands out. Book him. Work with him. Enjoy it.”
Ryan ParkeKeynote Speaker | Trainer | Coach | Author
5 of 5
“There is many things one could say to describe Richard and none would do him justice. A fantastic speaker, sounding board, cultivator of ideas and a great friend to boot. If you want a high thinking, high energy consultant then look no further.”
Murray Grubb JnrProfessional Storyteller
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“I have known Richard since the beginning years of MKAI. He is an engaging speaker and leader with the delivery of a world-class orator. If Richard is speaking somewhere, I'm listening in.”
Terry Earthwind NicholsCreator of RBCR® | Award-Winning Profiler | Vision & Business Strategist
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“Richard delivered an insightful and thought-provoking talk on the expansive implications of artificial intelligence on society, the future of work, and ethical considerations. His ability to articulate complex concepts in an accessible manner prompted a dynamic and engaging discussion among attendees. Richard's presentation not only highlighted the potential risks and rewards of AI adoption but also encouraged a deeper understanding of its impact. The session was very well-received, sparking meaningful dialogue and a multitude of questions from an engaged audience. We are appreciative of Richard's contribution to our event and his role in advancing the conversation around AI. His expertise and passion for the subject matter were evident and greatly appreciated by all participants.”
Andy MurrayMajor Projects Association – Improving the initiation and delivery of major project outcomes
Keynote by Richard Foster-Fletcher:
For conference main stages, annual meetings, company events.
AI models are becoming more capable at reasoning, research and analysis, and at work that runs across many steps. This keynote explains where the leading models have reached, which developments are a real change rather than repackaging, and where current claims run ahead of the evidence.
It also examines the distance between the strongest models and the AI most organisations are actually running, why that distance exists, and what it costs a company to leave it there. Senior audiences leave with a clearer view of what the technology can now do and how far their own organisation is from it.
Keynote by Richard Foster-Fletcher:
For boards, executive committees, and the P&L holders carrying AI-dependent commitments.
Companies have made commitments to the market that depend on a level of capability being available from their AI systems. That capability may exist in the original model and still not survive deployment, once governance and security controls are applied. Those controls raise stability by limiting what the model produces, and the teams responsible for making AI safe are rarely the teams making commitments to the market.
That separation opens a gap between what is required from the AI and what it is permitted to do. Public documents show that companies are not testing whether the system, once deployed and governed, remains capable of the work their commitments assume.
The briefing sets out why the gap opened, which functions and processes produced it, and how to trace where it is showing up. Senior leaders leave knowing which functions need to be involved, what evidence is missing, and what closing the distance between the commitment and the system would require.
Watch Richard Foster Fletcher in action!
