According to a study, new technologies have upskilled and created jobs, but gaps in investment and education may slow the pace of progress.
According to a report, AI is having a “positive impact” on UK jobs but could also exacerbate geographical disparities.
According to a study, new technologies have increased work opportunities and job skills, but differences in education and investment could slow the pace of change.
According to new research, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and automated machinery has an overall positive impact on jobs, with more than three-quarters of businesses reporting that the technology has resulted in the creation of new roles within the organization and the majority reporting an improvement in job quality.
In a study conducted by the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW), Imperial College London, and Warwick Business School, more than 1,000 UK businesses were questioned on their adoption of new technology over the previous three years. Over 860 enterprises acknowledged employing AI and other automated technology, and 78% of those businesses claimed that doing so had directly led to the creation of new jobs.
Businesses claimed that 83% of technologies had increased the demand for new skills, while 69% said that they had either slightly or significantly enhanced job quality.
This report not only shows that AI adoption is well underway among UK businesses, but it also shows that it is possible for this technological transformation to result in both net job creation and more “good work” — excellent news as we work to solve the UK’s productivity conundrum.
The report’s conclusions seem at contrast with worries about potential job losses brought on by AI as well as with what the document refers to as “dramatic, speculative headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous robots.”
The report’s principal author, Prof. James Hayton, stated: “The tale is already changing, at least from a research standpoint. The problem is that predicting that there will be no jobs at all in 30 years is more exciting than saying, “Well, robots are taking our jobs sometimes, but it depends.”
“The true proof we have for this is that technology tends to upskill existing employment and create new ones. Yes, it downskills workers and disrupts other occupations, but in the long term, the economy tends to benefit.
While almost 67% of respondents claimed the technology had produced new roles, 47% of respondents claimed AI and automation had removed positions within their business.
The Pissarides Review into the Future of Work, which produced the report with support from the Nuffield Foundation, concluded that enterprises adopted both physical and non-physical work at equal rates.
Despite the positive responses from employers, the survey warned that, if not adequately addressed, the rate at which automation was permeating the labor market might increase regional disparities throughout the UK and result in “serious erosions in job quality.”
According to Hayton, “This technology will spread widely and quickly throughout the economy, so we would expect an equally rapid impact on some jobs.” Society will need to make adjustments to these concerns more quickly than ever before.
According to the report, regional innovation readiness, or the level of investment and education among a region’s workforce, determines whether adopting technology has a positive or negative influence on workers.
The south-east and London, as well as the second and third cities in these regions, do far better, according to the leveling up agenda, said Hayton. “This is comparable to, say, the extremes of the south or west. According to our research, these areas are worse prepared in terms of their investments in technology infrastructure and in education.
The research exhorts businesses and policymakers to concentrate on human resource strategies that invest in workers and focus on enhancing their capabilities through automation rather than replacing them in order to help guard against these negative results.
Because they have more abilities, employees are “more likely to be able to successfully utilize these technologies” if you invest more in them, according to Hayton. “They’re more adaptable, more eager to learn, and more sure that you won’t fire them. Consequently, successfully implementing the new technology will be simpler.