AI Minister Kanishka Narayan will join cabinet, even as the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is abolished and split up.
Kanishka Narayan is set to attend cabinet as the UK’s AI minister, even as the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is being scrapped in the latest Burnham government shake-up. The move gives the AI Minister a seat at the top table, but it also ends the stand-alone department that had handled science and tech policy.
DSIT was created by the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak in 2023. Its duties will now be divided among other departments, which means there is no longer a dedicated technology secretary. Liz Kendall held that post until she was removed by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Narayan, who was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer, called the cabinet invitation a sign of Burnham’s “deep commitment” to the importance of AI. Born in India and raised in Cardiff, he worked in government and business before winning election to Parliament in 2024 as the MP for the Vale of Glamorgan. In Starmer’s government, he had been responsible for AI opportunities, the AI Security Institute, semiconductors and online safety, and he is expected to keep handling some of those areas even without Kendall’s leadership.
He wrote on X that AI is likely to be the most significant technology in human history and said its impact would be larger than anything else. He said the strongest case for AI points to a reindustrialised Britain, stronger national security and better public services, while also warning that the technology carries real risks for jobs and for the speed of change.
Industry and academic voices welcomed the signal but warned the new government has work to do. Dom Hallas of the Startup Coalition said ministers must not ease up on tech policy after the abolition of DSIT, and argued the government should push AI adoption across public services and the wider economy. Professor Gina Neff of the University of Cambridge said one of the biggest challenges is how society handles the risk of AI replacing jobs, though she said putting an AI minister in cabinet suggests the prime minister is serious about the role.
Professor Adam Beaumont of AQL said the key issue is resilience, including more computing capacity and reliable power supply. He warned that government reorganisation should not mean too many changes at once, and said data centres need enough energy to support the country’s digital growth. The AI Minister now faces a clear test: how to turn Britain’s AI push into benefits people can feel before job losses deepen public concern.
