UK Hit Hardest by AI-Driven Job Cuts, With Losses Double Global Average
New research has revealed that the United Kingdom is experiencing more significant job losses due to artificial intelligence than other major economies. A comprehensive study conducted by investment bank Morgan Stanley found that British job reductions attributed to AI were twice the international average over the past year.
Stark Figures Highlight Workforce Disruption
The report indicates a net loss of 8 per cent in employment positions directly linked to AI implementation across the past twelve months. This troubling statistic emerges as the latest Office for National Statistics figures show UK unemployment at a five-year high, with sectors like retail and hospitality being particularly affected.
Among the five major economies included in the analysis, only the United States witnessed an increase in jobs as a consequence of AI adoption. The companies surveyed reported that despite having fewer staff members, the introduction of artificial intelligence had actually improved both productivity and overall output.
Warning Signs and Wider Implications
One of the report's authors described these findings as an "early warning sign" of the substantial disruption that artificial intelligence will continue to exert on the workforce. This concern is echoed by separate research from job search platform Adzuna, which discovered that entry-level positions—including apprenticeships, junior roles, and graduate opportunities—have decreased by nearly one third since ChatGPT's arrival in 2022.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI which created ChatGPT, has been an outspoken advocate for universal basic income as a potential solution to offset AI-related employment declines. However, he has cautioned that there will be no single remedy to address this complex challenge.
Vulnerable Professions and Political Concerns
A Microsoft study from last July identified numerous professions at risk from AI advancement, ranging from technical roles like data scientists and economists to creative positions including historians and authors. The potential scale of this transformation has prompted serious political concern.
Earlier this month, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan warned that artificial intelligence could potentially usher in a new era of mass unemployment and increased inequality. During his annual speech at Mansion House, he stated: "We mustn't drift, absentmindedly, into a future we didn't ask for and don't want. We need to wake up and make a choice: seize the potential of AI and use it as a superpower for positive transformation and creation, or surrender to it and sit back and watch as it becomes a weapon of mass destruction of jobs."
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve at a rapid pace, these findings underscore the urgent need for strategic planning and policy development to manage the transition and mitigate negative impacts on employment across the United Kingdom.
