For all of those who've been championing artificial intelligence as the 'savior' of the human race that can streamline things, open the doors to four-day workweeks, and take us into a new era from the metaphorical stone age of technology, new research is showing the darker side of this evolution.
While it's all well and good that Elon Musk pitches his hopes of universal high income and Bill Gates predicts two-day weeks thanks to artificial intelligence, it's more than just worrying about how we'll fill our time that's keeping some up at night.
Notably, this boom in AI has us flesh and blood humans fearing that our jobs will be taken by robots. With people rushing to train to become plumbers as a job that’s reportedly one of the 'safest' from the AI revolution, others like customer service workers, data scientists, and accountants are said to be most at risk.
New research from investment bank Morgan Stanley found that one country with 69 million residents is leading the way in terms of AI replacements.
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As reported by Bloomberg, more human jobs are being lost in the United Kingdom than in any other 'large' economy.
Looking at the big five of the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, and Japan, only the USA could boast an increase in jobs thanks to AI.
Over the past 12 months, the UK recorded a 23% loss of jobs compared to 15% new hires. While it's true that Japan technically faced worse losses due to a 24% decrease, it also secured 17% new hires. The UK's 8% net loss puts it in pole position.
We previously covered how the United Kingdom might be putting eight million jobs at risk, but apparently, it could be much worse.
Morgan Stanley looked at firms who'd been using AI for at least a year, with an interest in the industries of consumer staples and retail, real estate, transport, health-care equipment, and automobiles.
UK companies could supposedly cheer a 11.5% productivity increase due to AI, with around half celebrating even more...but at what cost?
Of those employers surveyed, most said they'd cut early-career jobs, focusing on those who needed between two and five years of experience.
Elsewhere, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that UK unemployment is currently at a five-year high, as the retail and hospitality sectors are hit the hardest.
Employers are supposedly struggling with payroll costs, sluggish growth, and political instability, forcing them to slash jobs at a pace unseen since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Alongside AI, minimum wage increases and National Insurance contributions are said to be other culprits.
As for AI, the outlet claims vacancies in jobs like software developers and consultants have dipped 37% since ChatGPT's introduction in November 2022. This is compared to a 26% drop in other areas where AI is less likely to replace human workers.
Still, the Bank of England thinks AI could actually rescue the British economy. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey referred to AI as the next “general purpose technology” that we've previously seen from tech, including computers and the internet.
This comes at a cost, as Bailey recently warned the UK needs to brace for 'AI-driven job displacements'.