According to the Institute for Public Policy Research, up to 8 million UK workers could lose their employment to artificial intelligence under present government policies.
Resource- Bloomberg
AI now affects 11% of jobs performed by UK employees, a figure that may climb to nearly 60% if businesses integrate the technology more fully, according to a think tank paper released Wednesday. Part-time, entry-level, and back-office employment, such as customer service, are particularly vulnerable, but higher-paying jobs will also be affected.
The findings underline the issues that the government faces as it increasingly relies on artificial intelligence to address the UK’s productivity problem. Companies across the board are embracing AI to increase efficiency, and the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has proposed an £800 million ($1 billion) investment in technology and AI to boost public-sector output.
“Already existing generative AI could lead to big labor market disruption or hugely boost economic growth, either way it is set to be a game changer for millions of us,” said Carsten Jung, senior economist at IPPR, which studied 22,000 tasks across all job kinds in the UK.
“A jobs apocalypse is not unavoidable; the government, companies, and unions have the opportunity to make critical design decisions now that will ensure we manage this new technology effectively. If they don’t act quickly, it could be too late.”
According to the IPPR analysis, government policy will determine whether AI adoption leads to job losses or economic growth.
Modeling the possible impact of a “second wave” of AI adoption on the job market, the IPPR discovered that the technology might add up to £306 billion per year to the UK economy without any job losses in the best-case scenario, depending on government policies. AI could also result in pay increases of up to 30%.
Without any policy reforms, researchers anticipate that AI will eliminate 8 million jobs with no economic gains.
A separate LinkedIn study revealed that the UK trails behind India, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Israel in terms of AI expertise. According to Janine Chamberlin, UK national manager for the employment-focused social networking site, fewer than half of UK businesses invest in employee training.
Around 32 of the 10,000 LinkedIn members in the UK have AI talents, such as machine learning or prompt engineering. In a London interview, Chamberlin stated that the figure is still “relatively small,” even though it has doubled since 2016.
Women and young people may be more likely to be displaced by AI. Women are disproportionately engaged in tasks that are most influenced by technology, but businesses may post fewer graduate job openings and instead depend more on AI for entry-level labor.
AI transition
Women and young people may be more likely to be displaced by AI. Women are disproportionately engaged in tasks that are most influenced by technology, but businesses may post fewer graduate job openings and instead depend more on AI for entry-level labor.
According to the IPPR, the government should adopt an industrial AI policy to support job transitions and distribute automation gains across the economy rather than concentrating them on a few enterprises. Fiscal incentives to supplement rather than replace occupations, legislative adjustments, and support for green jobs that are less likely to be automated are among the recommendations.
RESOURCE FROM BLOOMBERG