Kanishka Narayan Appointed UK's First Minister for Artificial Intelligence

Exam-focused facts from the 23 July 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Kanishka Narayan was appointed as the United Kingdom's first dedicated Minister for Artificial Intelligence by Prime Minister Andy Burnham in July 2026.
He was born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and moved to Cardiff, Wales at the age of 12.
He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford and earned an MBA from Stanford University.
He was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Vale of Glamorgan in the 2024 general election, becoming Wales' first ethnic minority MP.
Prior to this appointment, he served as the UK's minister for online safety and AI.
His new role is at Cabinet level and he will attend Cabinet meetings, jointly serving in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business and Trade.