BBC
The march of the bots
The impact of AI on employment has the potential to be massive: it could be comparable to the Industrial Revolution, except that automation and robotization are now affecting 'white collar' jobs, as opposed to manufacturing and factory work - the 'blue collar' jobs that were decimated from the 1970s onwards in Western Europe.
There is a huge crisis of work in the UK right now. On the one hand, there is a large number of people who are neither studying (or training) nor working: it is claimed they are on benefit due to mental-health issues, and all sorts of other medical conditions. This has become the new normal since COVID-19. The welfare bill has the potential to bankrupt the State and is totally unsustainable.
On the other hand, the impact of AI is starting to be felt. AI is far from perfect, as it is, but a majority of employers, in my experience, could not care less if the quality of the work produced is fairly mediocre: if they can save money - and this applies to the public sector too - they are happy. The dominant view is that clients do not notice (or care) anyway whether the website or graphic design, for example, is very good, good or just about OK: everyone is in a hurry and wants to save time and money. AI is viewed as a quick fix, and a cheap one.
All of this means that entering the job market is tougher for young people, and particularly for young graduates. The Labour government's policies on employment, industry and taxation have not helped, of course, so that Britain is becoming a high-unemployment society, for the first time in many decades.
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At least a million jobs done by Londoners are either "highly or significantly exposed" to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), a report published by City Hall says.
More than 300,000 roles in administrative roles face the highest levels of exposure and risk of automation "as their clerical tasks align most closely with GenAI capabilities", the 71-page Greater London Authority report states.
It said a further 748,000 roles in areas such as IT, data analysis and secretarial work are at risk but it "varies across tasks".
[...] Women, who are overrepresented in administrative and clerical roles, young people and those with higher educational levels are among the most exposed, the report states. Brokers, web designers, telephone salespersons and journalists are also vulnerable.
Jobs least at risk from AI include architects, barbers, chefs, chief executives, driving instructors, florists and undertakers.
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