UK appoints Kanishka Narayan as first AI minister

The UK government has elevated artificial intelligence to cabinet-level oversight after appointing Kanishka Narayan MP as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.

The move sees Narayan, who previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Online Safety in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, take on a joint portfolio spanning the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

He was appointed on July 20, 2026, by Prime Minister Andy Burnham as part of a broader administrative reorganisation aimed at accelerating technological transformation across public services and commercial sectors.

Before his cabinet elevation, Narayan built an extensive background spanning public service, venture capital, and technology policy.

Kanishka Narayan has been appointed as Minister of State (Minister for Artificial Intelligence) jointly in the @cabinetofficeuk and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. He will attend Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/IWxGwmSt2E

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 20, 2026

Born in Bihar, India, he moved to Cardiff, Wales, at 12 years old, where his family settled in a modest one-bedroom flat.

After attending Cathays High School, he earned a scholarship to Eton College.

He went on to read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, before obtaining an MBA from Stanford University in California.

First elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for the Vale of Glamorgan in July 2024, Narayan worked earlier in his career as an economist and civil servant in the Cabinet Office under Prime Minister David Cameron.

He also served as an adviser in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under Liz Truss.

Now, in his expanded role, Narayan will oversee state investments in supercomputing infrastructure, drive commercial AI adoption across the UK economy, and refine safety guardrails as governments globally seek to establish effective regulatory frameworks.

While the appointment marks a milestone for Westminster, appointing dedicated ministers for artificial intelligence is an approach pioneered elsewhere in the world.

The United Arab Emirates became the first nation to establish a dedicated human cabinet post when it appointed Omar Sultan Al Olama as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in October 2017.

Albania took a different route in late 2025 by introducing an experimental virtual AI avatar named Diella to serve as a digital minister overseeing public procurement reform.