Sadiq Khan creates early-warning system for AI ‘jobs apocalypse’ in London
Key Points
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced he will spend an additional £18 million on futureproofing London in the face of AI transformation.
- A recent report warned of a potential 'jobs apocalypse' in the capital due to AI adoption, but noted this was not an inevitability.
- Khan has taken forward three recommendations from the report, including the establishment of an 'early-warning system' to warn of looming AI job losses in London.
- Other measures include funding partnership between employers and teachers, as well as helping young Londoners build the skills they need to succeed in an AI-enabled world.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced new investment in futureproofing the London economy to avoid a ‘jobs apocalypse’ caused by the proliferation of AI.
The Mayor has accepted the recommendations of the London AI and Jobs Taskforce, which recently published a report that found 1 in 5 London workers are at risk of being replaced by AI.
Additionally, the report found that at least 46% of the capital’s workforce are in roles where AI could automate a share of their tasks.
While the report highlighted the risk of significant job market disruption in London, it said that this was not necessarily inevitable, and recommended that measures be taken to actively shape the city’s AI transition and create new opportunities for young people entering the labour market.
After considering the findings of the report, the Mayor has announced a new £18-million package of investment to help young people in London who are not in employment, education, or training, get the skills they need to succeed in the new, AI-transformed landscape.
This package builds on the £12 million in investment Khan recently announced for small- and medium-sized businesses, helping them to improve their AI adoption to boost growth.
An early-warning system for AI job disruption
Khan announced he will create a London AI Early Action System to spot where AI is affecting the labour market before it becomes a crisis. This system would harvest labour market data, insights from employers and other evidence, combining them into an early-warning system.
This system will reportedly allow London to spot AI-driven change in the labour market while there is still time to step in and save or transform jobs, rather than when it is too late to act.
The goal of this systems is to help London act before disruption to jobs caused by AI turns into dislocation and widespread job losses.
Khan will also launch a London AI at Work Partnership that will help workers and teachers rethink and redesign jobs to fit a world transformed by AI, which could enable better workforce planning and development.
He will also bring employers and young Londoners together to solve business challenges and co-design new career pathways enabled by AI. This programme will focus particularly on building human skills such as judgement, communication, creativity, and problem-solving.
Khan has also lobbied for greater devolution of powers to the capital, giving the local authority greater flexibility to respond to the transformative effect AI is having on the London job market.
“The debate about AI has become too polarised. Some claim it will solve everything. Others predict mass unemployment. Neither view helps Londoners prepare for the future,” Khan said.
“London has the talent, businesses, universities, educators and creativity to lead the world in responsible AI adoption.”
“By acting now, we can boost productivity, create opportunity and make sure technological progress benefits everyone,” he said.
