Andy Burnham has appointed Kanishka Narayan as the UK's first cabinet-level Minister for Artificial Intelligence, a move announced alongside the scrapping of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Our own Anita Rajdev, co-founder and senior value partner at Valliance, was asked to comment by two leading UK tech titles this week: UKTN and TechRound.
Speaking to UKTN, Anita welcomed the appointment as a sign of intent: "Giving AI a seat at the cabinet table is an important signal that Burnham understands the technology's growing strategic importance to the UK's future."
In TechRound, featured alongside voices from Arbor Law, La Fosse and Tech London Advocates, she set out what needs to happen next: "The UK has world-class talent, strong research institutions and a vibrant AI ecosystem. The challenge for the new minister will be creating the conditions for those strengths to translate into economic value and public sector outcomes at scale." Anita also pointed to procurement reform as a practical lever, arguing that a more agile approach would help British AI firms compete with those in the US and China.
Read the full pieces at UKTN and TechRound.
