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UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan released a video bigging up “British AI”, but sadly for him (and for us), the real story was in the background

Michael White. Updated August 15th, 2026

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Did you know that the UK now has a Minister for Artificial Intelligence, as of last month?

36-year-old MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, Kanishka Narayan might not have been too well known before Andy Burnham took over, but, given his brief, is likely to be an increasingly high profile presence on our screens.

Well, Kanishka released a video this week of himself in a park, answering questions about how supporting British AI capability is all about “keeping our country safe, creating jobs for our kids, and building with British values.”

However, someone on his team might have thought about the optics of bigging up AI while in a heatwave-scorched park – especially given how much water AI and data centres consume. Keep in mind that two-thirds of England is also now officially in drought.

Let’s just say the stark contrast was not lost on people online.

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