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AI: The next Industrial Revolution?

On 26th October, Rishi Sunak addressed the topical concerns around Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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Published 7 November 2023

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Rishi Sunak broached the fears surrounding ‘super intelligence’, and the greater overall concern that humanity could eventually lose control of AI, bringing an abundance of risks. However, it is perhaps the fear of joblessness, which is the most relatable concern, closest to home for working people.

With Rishi’s prediction that the implementation of AI could be as ‘transformative as the industrial revolution’, it is a natural worry for workers that their current job roles will become redundant, replaced by the looming arrival of AI technology, which is faster and more efficient than them. A worker absent of human nature, who won’t require rest, work life balance, sick days, or holiday. It is for this reason that alongside the excitement and optimism of the great promises of what AI may be able to achieve for humanity, there is an attached anxiety about the place of employees in the new world of AI.

Rishi’s speech did not directly address this concern; however, perhaps UK workers can take comfort from Rishi’s statement that ‘£100 million has already been invested in a new task force for AI safety’ and the location of the world’s first AI safety institute in the UK to ‘advance world knowledge of AI safety, examine, evaluate and test new types of AI’, will bring employment opportunities as a human workforce is put together to work with AI safety.

So… what jobs could arise following the adoption of AI? It appears as if the government want the UK to take an active role in AI safety, which should see the arrival of jobs centring around AI risk management. Alongside the need for workers dedicated to the technical elements of AI risk management, laws and procedures will need to be drafted and implemented to support AI regulation and the safe use of the technology in businesses and more generally. Finally, the speech also focused on entrepreneurship and the hopeful anticipation that AI technology will advance business growth in the UK, which could see the arrival of job roles which we don’t even know can exist yet.

It is fair to say that we are on the verge of what the PM insinuated was a second ‘industrial revolution’, which brings an unpredictability, because nobody can yet confirm what employment roles will become redundant by AI, and on the flip side, what new jobs are on the horizon. We cannot be sure how employment will change following the introduction of AI; all we can be sure of is that it will.

At the start of November, the world’s first ever Global AI Safety Summit was held at Bletchley Park, which brought together ‘leading representatives from Civil Society, companies pioneering AI and the countries most advanced in using it.’ The PM discussed the importance of bringing together the world’s leading AI powers to understand the risks associated with AI and strategize accordingly. The PM advertised that an international statement will be published in the aftermath of the summit, which will hopefully providing further detail as to the nature of the concerns.

For more information, visit our Employment Lawyers page and our Digitalisation page.

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Shorter Reads

AI: The next Industrial Revolution?

On 26th October, Rishi Sunak addressed the topical concerns around Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Published 7 November 2023

Associated sectors / services

  • Digital
  • Employment law for employers
  • Digital

Authors

Rishi Sunak broached the fears surrounding ‘super intelligence’, and the greater overall concern that humanity could eventually lose control of AI, bringing an abundance of risks. However, it is perhaps the fear of joblessness, which is the most relatable concern, closest to home for working people.

With Rishi’s prediction that the implementation of AI could be as ‘transformative as the industrial revolution’, it is a natural worry for workers that their current job roles will become redundant, replaced by the looming arrival of AI technology, which is faster and more efficient than them. A worker absent of human nature, who won’t require rest, work life balance, sick days, or holiday. It is for this reason that alongside the excitement and optimism of the great promises of what AI may be able to achieve for humanity, there is an attached anxiety about the place of employees in the new world of AI.

Rishi’s speech did not directly address this concern; however, perhaps UK workers can take comfort from Rishi’s statement that ‘£100 million has already been invested in a new task force for AI safety’ and the location of the world’s first AI safety institute in the UK to ‘advance world knowledge of AI safety, examine, evaluate and test new types of AI’, will bring employment opportunities as a human workforce is put together to work with AI safety.

So… what jobs could arise following the adoption of AI? It appears as if the government want the UK to take an active role in AI safety, which should see the arrival of jobs centring around AI risk management. Alongside the need for workers dedicated to the technical elements of AI risk management, laws and procedures will need to be drafted and implemented to support AI regulation and the safe use of the technology in businesses and more generally. Finally, the speech also focused on entrepreneurship and the hopeful anticipation that AI technology will advance business growth in the UK, which could see the arrival of job roles which we don’t even know can exist yet.

It is fair to say that we are on the verge of what the PM insinuated was a second ‘industrial revolution’, which brings an unpredictability, because nobody can yet confirm what employment roles will become redundant by AI, and on the flip side, what new jobs are on the horizon. We cannot be sure how employment will change following the introduction of AI; all we can be sure of is that it will.

At the start of November, the world’s first ever Global AI Safety Summit was held at Bletchley Park, which brought together ‘leading representatives from Civil Society, companies pioneering AI and the countries most advanced in using it.’ The PM discussed the importance of bringing together the world’s leading AI powers to understand the risks associated with AI and strategize accordingly. The PM advertised that an international statement will be published in the aftermath of the summit, which will hopefully providing further detail as to the nature of the concerns.

For more information, visit our Employment Lawyers page and our Digitalisation page.

Associated sectors / services

  • Digital
  • Employment law for employers
  • Digital

Authors

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