Kanishka Narayan was appointed as Britain’s first minister for AI
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Britain’s first AI minister has said “people are right to worry” about the impact of technology on jobs, but vowed to “work every hour, every day to try to make sure it goes right”.
Kanishka Narayan became the country’s first minister for AI after Andy Burnham created the role in his Cabinet as he became prime minister last month.
A new AI Taskforce led by Mr Narayan has also been created, as the new prime minister promised to put AI “at the centre of all our work to change people’s lives for the better”.
Speaking to The Times, Mr Narayan, said Britain had “sat out the tech revolution” over the last 15 years, as he called for more investment in technology.
But addressing concerns about the impact of technological change, he said: “People are right to be worried.”
“This is the most important question for, in some cases, our jobs, but in many cases for our kids’ jobs and their kids’ jobs. I’m not going to sit here and tell you it’s going to be brilliant and we’re all going to get through it smoothly. This is an unprecedented pace of technological jump.”
Upon the launch of the AI Taskforce, Mr Narayan said AI would likely be the “most significant technology in human history”.
He added that Britain could cut through the “slop of AI” to boost areas such as recruitment.
“If we get the job-matching and recruitment process right, we’ll cut through not just the slop of AI, but frankly, the slop of recruitment,” he said.
“I’m not guaranteeing that it’s going to go the right way, but what I am guaranteeing is that I’m going to work every hour, every day to try to make sure it goes right.”
Mr Burnham has recently raised concerns about the increasing use of artificial intelligence to screen potential candidates for jobs, questioning how young people without existing connections could get their foot in the door.
He added he did not feel that “recruitment in the post-pandemic era is becoming fairer”.
He also called on employers to reconsider their reliance on virtual job interviews, arguing the technology may not give young people the ability to “shine” during the hiring process.
“One thing I really don’t like is this culture now of interviewing via Zoom or Teams,” he said.
“That just doesn’t seem right to me. I know it’s convenient for the organisations that do it, but how does a young person shine in that situation?”
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