UK in talks to introduce universal basic income, says minister
The government is in talks to introduce a universal basic income as one measure to help offset job losses caused by the adoption of AI, says Investment Minister Lord Jason Stockwood.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Stockwood said that there would have to be some sort of ‘concessionary arrangement’ with jobs that go immediately.
“Undoubtedly we’re going to have to think really carefully about how we soft-land those industries that go away, so some sort of (universal basic income), some sort of life-long mechanism as well so people can retrain,” he said.
“I think of the productivity gains and the wealth that AI can create, but we also need to think of the more pernicious and near-term danger that it just embeds inequality and makes a really small cohort of super-wealthy elites even wealthier because they control the capital and the technologies,” he said.
Free AI courses for all adults
Stockwood’s comments come after the government announced that every adult in the UK is now eligible to take free, newly benchmarked courses to gain practical AI skills for work. The move forms part of a joint government and industry programme which aims to upskill some 10 million workers.
In an accompanying statement, governement said its goal is to make Britain the fastest adopting AI country in the G7. To do this, it has set ambitious targets to ensure the workforce is adequately skilled, confident, and ready to grasp the full opportunities of AI.
This could create more higher-skilled jobs and free workers up from routine tasks, with the adoption of AI potentially unlocking up to £140 billion in annual economic output as part of plans for national renewal, it said.
