A new UK government report found that management consultants and City of London financial workers were among the most affected by workplace changes brought about by artificial intelligence. The report called for changes to schools and training programs in order to mitigate this impact.
The UK Department for Education’s Unit for Future Skills found that adopting AI will greatly affect jobs in the financial and insurance sectors.London is the area most likely to experience labor market disruptions due to the adoption of AI, as it has a high concentration in professional roles.
The report stated that “Advances made in artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on the UK’s economy and society. However, the exact nature and speed are uncertain.” The UK education system needs to adapt to provide the workforce with the skills they need to benefit from potential advantages.
This study, which used methods developed by US researchers to measure the impact of AI on the UK job market, was one of the very first attempts. The study measured the impact of AI applications across a variety of jobs without distinguishing the positive or negative effects of the technology.
The study identified management consultants as the occupation that is most susceptible to the AI applications, which range from language modeling and translation to image recognition. Technology is likely to have the greatest impact on professional roles, such as those of lawyers, accountants, and financial managers. AI is also a high-risk role for teachers.
Banks are also warming to the idea of leveraging AI to improve productivity. Some say that the productivity gains could also translate into a hiring slowdown, especially for software engineering roles.
AI will primarily impact workers who have higher levels of education, while those employed in industries like construction and manufacturing will likely experience little to no impact.