Championing Responsible AI Mentoring for the Next Generation of Innovators

At Quantum Risk Solutions, we're all about making cutting-edge tech safe, ethical, and able to survive contact with the real world. So when the opportunity came along to join Digital Catapult’s Responsible AI Mentor programme, delivered as part of the Innovate UK BridgeAI Accelerator, we jumped in with both feet.

Photo by Nik on Unsplash

This national programme - backed by a £100 million investment — is designed to boost AI adoption in sectors with massive growth potential but low AI maturity. The latest cohort is focused squarely on construction. Think: AI systems that can streamline planning, automate compliance, optimise modular design, or even 3D print a building.

As Responsible AI Mentors, our role is to help cohort companies pause, step back, and ask the big questions:

• “What could go wrong here?”

• “Are we sure this AI model won’t accidentally bulldoze a bungalow?”

• “What does compliance even look like for this use case?”

We’re on hand to support with practical, down-to-earth advice on:

• Data privacy, ethics, and regulatory obligations

• Identifying risks early (including the ones nobody likes to talk about)

• Governance strategies that scale as they grow

• Red-teaming, misuse scenarios, and good old-fashioned common sense

Why Responsible AI Mentoring Matters

Let’s be realistic - AI governance isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. For high-growth companies building mission-critical tools (especially in sectors like construction, transport, or infrastructure), getting it wrong can mean legal, reputational, and operational headaches down the line.

This programme ensures that promising AI start-ups don’t just grow fast - they grow wisely. And as consultants who live and breathe Responsible AI, we’re proud to help shape that journey.

Getting Ready to Ask the Tough Questions

Our first mentoring sessions are just around the corner, and the theme couldn’t be more on-brand: What could go wrong?

This isn’t about doom and gloom - it’s about giving start-ups the space and structure to identify risks early, challenge assumptions, and build resilient products from day one.

Each session kicks off with a five-minute product overview, followed by an open, practical discussion around questions like:

• Who are the intended users, and how will they interact with the system?

• What automated decisions or actions will the AI trigger?

• What types of data are being used, and how are they handled?

• How might user behaviour change because of this product?

• What risks have already been considered... and what might they have missed?

These conversations are where governance gets real - not a checkbox exercise, but a chance to build safer, smarter products before they hit the market. Our role is to guide, challenge (nicely), and bring practical insight grounded in regulatory experience and real-world deployment.

We’re looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and helping these innovators tackle the messy, complex, essential stuff that turns good AI into responsible AI.

What’s Next for Our Responsible AI Mentoring Work?

We see this as more than a one-off commitment. It’s part of a broader mission to:

• Champion responsible innovation

• Build long-term partnerships with ambitious start-ups

• Support the UK’s growing AI ecosystem with hands-on, specialist expertise

So if you’re building something AI-driven and need help navigating the ethical, legal or technical minefield - you know where to find us.

Let’s build AI that’s not just clever, but careful.