AI Minister Kanishka Narayan has joined Prime Minister Andy Burnham for talks with major international business leaders on Britain’s ambitions in research, technology, artificial intelligence and job creation.
Narayan said the meeting brought together senior figures including Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Kyndryl chairman and CEO Martin Schroeter and Alphabet and Google president Ruth Porat, alongside other business leaders.
He said:
“The Prime Minister and I spoke to business leaders about the UK’s ambition in research, in technology, in AI security, and in supporting jobs right across our communities.”
The meeting came during Burnham’s visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, where he placed artificial intelligence at the centre of Britain’s international agenda.
AI at heart of Britain’s economic strategy
Narayan, who serves as Minister for Artificial Intelligence across the Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, is responsible for areas including AI policy, data infrastructure, semiconductors, sovereign AI, the AI Security Institute and economy-wide adoption of the technology.
His intervention reflects Labour’s wider attempt to connect AI policy with growth, national security and regional employment rather than treating it purely as a technology issue.
Burnham told the UN General Assembly that AI would be central to economic growth, education, health and national security, while also warning that increasingly powerful systems bring significant risks that governments must address.
Burnham announces global AI push
The Prime Minister also announced that Britain will put AI at the heart of its G20 presidency in 2027, with the aim of bringing governments and industry together around shared principles for safe and transparent development.
Burnham said:
“Fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance.”
He argued that elected governments must shape the direction of AI development and ensure technological change creates jobs and supports reindustrialisation rather than simply displacing workers.
New UK-US AI defence partnership
The Government is also developing a new UK-US AI defence partnership focused on protecting critical national infrastructure.
Burnham announced the initiative in New York alongside broader UK-US cooperation on autonomous defence technology and undersea systems.
The Prime Minister said Britain had a particular advantage because of its AI research base and the work of the UK’s AI Security Institute.
Global companies central to investment drive
Narayan’s meeting with Cook, Porat, Schroeter and other executives also forms part of Labour’s wider effort to attract investment from the world’s biggest technology companies.
The Government has been trying to strengthen Britain’s position in AI infrastructure, semiconductors and computing while ensuring investment creates skilled jobs across the country rather than becoming concentrated in a small number of places.
That fits with Burnham’s broader commitment to reindustrialisation and spreading growth beyond traditional economic centres.
Narayan: technology must support communities
Narayan’s emphasis on “supporting jobs right across our communities” underlines the political challenge facing Labour.
The Government wants Britain to become a leading AI economy, but it also wants technological change to translate into employment, investment and productivity gains that are widely shared.
For Narayan, the message is that Britain’s AI strategy must combine ambition with security — attracting global investment, backing research and innovation, and ensuring the benefits of technological change reach communities across the country.
