With some UK workers adopting AI and others losing their jobs because of it, concerns remain about the country’s ability to cope with the new and alarmingly rapid evolution of AI. there is
The government needs to act to prepare for the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into the workplace “like a freight train,” the head of a major British energy company told Sky News.
Octopus founder Greg Jackson said the adoption of AI across industries will ultimately improve workplaces and create new roles, but the staggering pace of development will likely slow down in the near term. says it means millions of jobs could be at risk.
Octopus has greatly benefited from the deployment of generative artificial intelligence in its customer service operations, with 44% of customer emails at least partially answered by AI in just seven weeks of implementation.
Human employees still manage and check all of the AI’s output, and Jackson said that wouldn’t cost Octopus jobs.
But he warned that the technology poses a threat to jobs for companies looking to cut costs, and companies, regulators and politicians should prepare for a rapid transition.
“Governments around the world are starting to look very quickly at what they have to do, but we don’t have time to sit still,” he said. “If a freight train is approaching, wait until you feel a collision before leaving.
“Growing companies, companies that are expanding and innovating in new areas, are using AI to do it faster, better for their customers, and in our case better for the planet. You will be able to
“But I think it could be a cost-cutting tool for companies that aren’t growing and don’t have similar opportunities to expand into new areas. In that case, the threat to jobs is very real. ”
“Now that we are seeing some of these impacts, I think responsible businesses should be able to open up this discussion and help governments think about how to address it. The first thing we must consider is this economic turmoil and the risks to employment.”
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Mr. Jackson’s warning coincided with BT’s announcement. Replacing about 10,000 workers with advanced AI Over the next seven years, the company will be the UK’s largest direct link between new technology and job losses.
The debate around AI has gained urgency in recent months with the emergence of new generative AI models such as: Chat GPT Midjourney can create sophisticated document content and images based on a few text prompts.
The progress has surprised even developers, promising productivity gains along with fears of huge job losses and raising the prospect of a true industrial revolution in white-collar jobs.
It’s not clear where the balance of hope and pain will ultimately settle, but companies are accelerating their use of the technology.
recruitment at work
Allen & Overy, one of the “magic circles” of large London-based law firms, launched a trial last November of a bespoke AI tool called Harvey, which currently has 3,500 law firms across 43 jurisdictions. used by lawyers.
Lawyers use it to draft documents and research areas of law. It is then checked and fine-tuned before use, giving him 1-2 hours worth of productivity gains per person per week.
“Thousands of hours have been saved across large organizations,” said David Wakeling, who led the project at Allen & Overy.
“It’s a tedious productivity boost, really an hour or two a week, but when you multiply it by 35,000, it’s a big deal for a company. It was impossible to realize improvement’ of the system. ”
He said the technology consistently wows employees with its capabilities, but does not pose a threat to human employees.
“We don’t think this will replace lawyers, it will augment them … It’s a great productivity gain with efficiency savings, but with the technology I’m seeing today, I know people are talking about this [job losses] But we use cutting-edge technology, so we don’t see that effect today.
“We always underestimate its capabilities. Someone sends me an email saying they’ve found the most brilliant answer or they’ve just found this use case, and it still happens all too often. increase.
“There are still limitations, there is still a risk of error, and we need to continue to focus on making sure people understand that it is safe to implement and that they need experts. It’s a great machine and it always creates surprises.” ”
Concerns about workers’ rights
Employers are exploring opportunities in AI, while unions are calling for tougher regulations, fearing AI could erode workers’ rights.
The government wants the UK to become a world leader in AI, and a recent white paper says it will. No legislation to deal with AIhopes to enable existing regulators to work with companies to develop appropriate rules.
The TUC, already underrepresented in the deployment of new technologies, calls for legislation to protect humans from being hired or fired by algorithms.
“Unfortunately, our research shows that the level of consultation around the adoption of new technology is very low, and in fact sometimes the technology works and forces decision-making to people who don’t even know it’s happening. It turns out that we’re underperforming,” said Mary Towers. , TUC Lead on AI.
“We believe that at a time when technology is developing rapidly and the implications are so great that regulation is most needed, instead of regulation the government will come up with flimsy and vague proposals with no legal basis. I claim to have filed.”
“Everyone has the potential to benefit from innovation and the development of AI-powered technology, but the key question is whether different voices are being heard during the development phase of the technology.”
