{"slug": "andy-burnhams-new-ai-minister-says-people-right-to-worry-about-new-tech", "title": "Andy Burnham’s new AI minister says people ‘right to worry’ about new tech", "summary": "Kanishka Narayan, Britain's first minister for AI appointed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, said people are \"right to worry\" about the impact of technology on jobs, vowing to \"work every hour, every day to try to make sure it goes right.\" Narayan, who leads a new AI Taskforce, told The Times that Britain had \"sat out the tech revolution\" over the last 15 years and called for more investment in technology, while also criticizing the use of AI and virtual interviews in recruitment.", "body_md": "# Andy Burnham’s new AI minister says people ‘right to worry’ about new tech\n\nKanishka Narayan was appointed as Britain’s first minister for AI\n\n- Bookmark\n- CommentsGo to comments\n\nBritain’s [first AI minister](/voices/andy-burnham-technical-education-ai-skills-schools-reform-b3024373.html) has said “people are right to worry” about the[ impact of technology](/tech/google-earth-ai-tool-canceled-b3025848.html) on jobs, but vowed to “work every hour, every day to try to make sure it goes right”.\n\nKanishka Narayan became the country’s first [minister for AI](/news/brussels-openai-european-commission-donald-trump-big-tech-b3025238.html) after Andy Burnham created the role in his Cabinet as he became prime minister last month.\n\nA 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”.\n\nSpeaking 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.\n\nBut addressing concerns about the impact of technological change, he said: “People are right to be worried.”\n\n“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.”\n\nUpon the launch of the AI Taskforce, Mr Narayan said AI would likely be the “most significant technology in human history”.\n\nHe added that Britain could cut through the “slop of AI” to boost areas such as recruitment.\n\n“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.\n\n“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.”\n\nMr 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.\n\nHe added he did not feel that “recruitment in the post-pandemic era is becoming fairer”.\n\nHe 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.\n\n“One thing I really don’t like is this culture now of interviewing via Zoom or Teams,” he said.\n\n“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?”\n\n## Join our commenting forum\n\nJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies\n\n[Comments](#comments-area)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnhams-new-ai-minister-says-people-right-to-worry-about-new-tech", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ai-minister-kanishka-narayan-technology-andy-burnham-b3025976.html", "published_at": "2026-08-02 10:39:43+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-02 11:03:36.028979+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Kanishka Narayan", "Andy Burnham", "The Times"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnhams-new-ai-minister-says-people-right-to-worry-about-new-tech", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnhams-new-ai-minister-says-people-right-to-worry-about-new-tech.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnhams-new-ai-minister-says-people-right-to-worry-about-new-tech.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnhams-new-ai-minister-says-people-right-to-worry-about-new-tech.jsonld"}}