Mayor Sadiq Khan has backed £30 million of investment to help Londoners and small businesses prepare for artificial intelligence, after a landmark report warned that around 600,000 workers are in roles highly exposed to AI and least equipped to adapt.
A landmark London AI and Jobs Taskforce report has rejected predictions of an inevitable AI “jobs apocalypse”, but warns that over half a million Londoners are employed in roles highly exposed to artificial intelligence and least equipped to adapt. Mayor Sadiq Khan has accepted its recommendations and backed £30 million of investment to help workers and businesses prepare for the transition.
Artificial intelligence will transform London’s economy, but whether it creates better opportunities or deepens inequality will depend on the decisions made by employers, educators and policymakers today, according to a new report. The London AI and Jobs Taskforce, chaired by technology entrepreneur Baroness Martha Lane Fox and supported by the Institute for the Future of Work, has concluded that an AI-driven “jobs apocalypse” is not inevitable.
However, it warns that London must act before disruption becomes entrenched, particularly as the technology begins reshaping entry-level roles, administrative work and traditional career pathways. The report, described as the largest study yet into AI’s impact on employment in London, found that around 600,000 Londoners work in occupations combining relatively high exposure to AI with a below-average capacity to adapt. These workers are concentrated in clerical and administrative occupations, are disproportionately women and tend to earn less than the London average.
AI ‘JOBS APOCALYPSE’
The Taskforce argues that AI should not be treated as an unstoppable force whose consequences are beyond human control. After three months of work with employers, trade unions, educators, researchers, experts and Londoners, it concluded that the way employment changes will be shaped by the decisions cities, businesses and governments make now.
The report calls for London to become the first global city to actively shape the AI transition, supporting organisations to introduce the technology responsibly while creating new opportunities for workers. Its approach reflects growing tension between employer optimism and employee anxiety. Previous research found that seven in 10 employers believe AI could help solve skills shortages, while three-quarters of workers fear it will mean companies need fewer employees.
That study found that 71% of employers believe AI could help address shortages of skilled talent and 80% regard AI integration as essential to closing future skills gaps. However, 75% of jobseekers fear organisations will eventually require fewer workers, illustrating the trust gap the London Taskforce is seeking to address.
OVER HALF OF LONDON JOBS HIGHLY EXPOSED TO AI
The Taskforce found that just over half of employment in London is in occupations combining relatively high AI exposure with an above-average ability to adapt. This suggests many workers could benefit from the technology through increased productivity, redesigned roles and the removal of repetitive tasks.
However, the position is significantly more precarious for the approximately 600,000 Londoners working in occupations that are both highly exposed and less able to adapt. The risks are not limited to sudden redundancy. The Taskforce warns of a quieter transformation involving fewer entry-level positions, weakened career ladders and growing inequality.
International evidence suggests these concerns extend well beyond London. A study found that majorities of workers across all 50 US states expect AI to fundamentally reshape their jobs within five years. The findings reinforce the Taskforce’s argument that employers and governments need to prepare workers for substantial job redesign rather than waiting for disruption to occur.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO FUTUREPROOF LONDON’S ECONOMY
The Mayor has agreed to take forward three flagship recommendations intended to help London identify and respond to changes before they become crises. They include:
1. Create a London AI early action system
The proposed early-warning system would combine labour-market data, employer insights and local evidence to identify emerging AI-driven changes while there is still time to respond.
Rather than relying on historic employment statistics, it would help London track how vacancies, skills requirements, entry-level opportunities and occupational demand are changing in real time.
2. Establish a London AI at work partnership
The partnership would bring employers, workers, trade unions and educators together to redesign work rather than simply automate existing roles. Its remit would include job redesign, workforce planning and skills development, helping organisations identify where AI and human capabilities can create greater value together.
3. Launch a London future ready guarantee
The proposed guarantee would bring employers and young Londoners together to solve real business challenges and help co-design the jobs, skills and career pathways likely to emerge from AI adoption. It would focus not only on technical and digital capabilities, but also on human skills such as:
- Judgement
- Communication
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Problem-solving
These capabilities are becoming increasingly important as AI takes on more routine and administrative work.
RESPONSIBLE AI MATTERS
“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,” said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. “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. Through our wider work to prepare London for the future, alongside £18m for new investment in skills, we’re helping ensure no young Londoner is left behind as part of my work to build a fairer, safer and more prosperous London for everyone.”
“That’s why I’m accepting three key recommendations from the Taskforce, chaired by Baroness Martha Lane Fox, alongside £18 million of new investment to help young Londoners gain the skills they need for the future, building on the £12 million already announced to help small businesses adopt AI.
Khan said his priorities are simple: “Spot changes in the jobs market early, bring employers, workers and educators together to introduce AI responsibly, and create more opportunities for young Londoners through better careers support, workplace experience and the skills employers need. These investments reflect a simple principle: AI’s impact on jobs is not fixed. Whether it creates more opportunity or more inequality depends on the decisions we take today.
GROWING INEQUALITY
“AI is changing how London works, but for many it still feels like something happening to them, not with them. The risk is not a sudden shock, but a quieter drift – fewer entry-level roles, weaker career ladders and growing inequality – unless we act early to shape how work evolves,” stated Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Chair of the London AI and Jobs Taskforce. “If we bring employers, workers and educators together now, we can turn higher productivity into broader opportunity, better jobs and stronger public trust. The future of work is not being decided elsewhere, London has the chance to shape it.”
Her warning comes as evidence mounts that early-career employment is already under significant pressure. Fair Play Talks recently reported that more than one million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training as entry-level opportunities disappear.
Separate analysis found that one in five young people who are unemployed have been out of work for more than a year, prompting the TUC to call for stronger employment guarantees and targeted support. These trends demonstrate why protecting the first rung of the career ladder is central to the Taskforce’s recommendations.
SUPPORT FOR ENTRY-LEVEL OPPORTUNITIES
Concerns about narrowing career pathways are not based solely on future projections. Previous employer research found that one in five companies had already stopped hiring entry-level workers because AI could perform work previously allocated to junior employees.
This creates a potential long-term challenge for businesses. Entry-level jobs do not simply provide immediate labour; they allow people to gain experience, develop professional judgement and progress into the specialist, managerial and leadership roles organisations will require in future.
Removing too many junior opportunities may deliver short-term savings while creating future shortages of experienced talent. The Mayor’s additional £18 million investment includes:
- £10.5 million to extend the Support for Young Londoners programme for another two years.
- Support for around 6,000 young Londoners who are currently not in education, employment or training.
- £7.3 million to continue and expand the Mayor’s London Careers Programme.
- Support for around 725 secondary and post-16 institutions to provide careers guidance, employer engagement and workplace experience.
The investment is intended to help young people overcome barriers and move into education, training or good-quality employment. It will also expand AI training for Londoners and complement the £12 million package designed to help smaller businesses use AI to improve growth and productivity.
AI RESHAPING WORK
“This is the most detailed picture yet of how AI is reshaping work in London, moving the debate from speculation to evidence. The Mayor is right that we need ‘AI realism’, not just AI skills,” shared Anna Thomas, Deputy Chair of the Taskforce and Head of Policy for the Future of Work Commission. “Around 600,000 Londoners are in jobs highly exposed to AI but least equipped to adapt, and the first rung of the career ladder is narrowing. But this is not destiny. Our research maps routes from at-risk and early-stage roles into good work, if AI, business and skills policies are redesigned. London can set the standard for ‘AI for people, by people.’”
Professor John Amaechi OBE, organisational psychologist, founder of APS Intelligence, Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School and Taskforce member, said the report corrects a crucial myth. “AI is not a force of nature. It’s a series of choices, and a great many of them are made inside organisations by the employers and managers who decide how it’s adopted,” noted Amaechi. “Whether AI helps London’s workers or harms them turns on those choices: whether they consult the people whose jobs are changing, whether the work that remains is still worth doing, and whether young people entering the workforce and vulnerable workers already within it are treated as colleagues who’ll oversee this technology, rather than as the first ones it replaces.
AI – A LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE
AI is “not a technology problem for someone else to solve,” he added. “It’s a leadership challenge, and the Mayor has used his convening power to put it in front of the employers and educators who can shape the answer. The rest is ours to get right.”
His comments highlight the importance of examining not only whether AI improves efficiency, but also how it affects job quality, collaboration and workplace relationships. Previous research covered by Fair Play Talks found that AI is transforming teamwork, yet more than half of US employers fear it could eventually replace human collaboration.
That concern reinforces the need for organisations to assess whether AI-enabled work remains meaningful, collaborative and capable of supporting employee development.
HUMAN CAPABILITY KEY TO SUCCESSFUL AI ADOPTION
“Having spent over a decade deploying AI across some of the UK’s most important organisations, the pattern is consistent,” shared Angie Ma, Co-Founder of Faculty. “The technology is rarely the bottleneck. The gap is almost always in the human capability around it. That’s why these recommendations matter. Getting AI right in London means investing in people’s skills and giving them the agency to shape how it’s used, not just adapt to it. Do that well, and AI becomes a force for broader opportunity across the capital.”
How AI impacts working lives in London will be shaped by choices and who gets to make them, according to Adam Cantwell-Corn, AI and technology policy lead at the Trades Union Congress and a member of the Taskforce. “Workers need to be part of making those decisions to ensure this technology benefits working people, their families, and communities With unions around the table for the Mayor’s Taskforce, we look forward to working towards a fair AI economy for the city.”
AI OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Michelle Cuomo-Boorer, Managing Director of Strategy at London & Partners believes AI has the potential to make a significant impact on London’s small business community, “by helping founders and their employees to be more productive, resilient, save time and money, and scale their businesses”. “As AI technologies continue to rapidly develop, it is essential that small business owners are given the right tools, training and guidance to navigate these changes with confidence; understand the opportunities AI can bring and adopt it in ways that support their day-to-day work and growth,” she explained.
“As a global hub for AI innovation, talent and research, London is uniquely placed to help its small business community realise the benefits of AI. London & Partners is committed to working with the Mayor and the London AI and Jobs Taskforce to ensure small businesses have the help they need to maximise the opportunities it can bring to their workforce, to the local economy and to Londoners.”
TASKFORCE CALLS FOR GREATER DEVOLUTION
The Taskforce has also recommended that the Mayor open discussions with the UK Government over devolving more responsibility for AI transition policy to London. The proposals include:
- Greater flexibility over skills commissioning and deployment.
- Testing AI transition incentives for employers investing in workforce development.
- Retaining and reinvesting a share of public savings created through successful employment outcomes.
- Wider fiscal and policy flexibility where it strengthens London’s ability to respond to labour-market change.
The Mayor has requested a meeting with AI Minister Kanishka Narayan to discuss the proposals.
GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS: HOW TO INTRODUCE AI RESPONSIBLY
The report makes clear that employers will play a decisive role in determining whether AI creates better work or greater insecurity.
Involve workers from the beginning
Consult employees and recognised trade unions before introducing tools that may significantly alter roles, workloads, performance expectations or career pathways. People affected by the technology should have an opportunity to influence how it is selected, implemented and evaluated.
Redesign work rather than simply removing jobs
Employers should assess how AI can eliminate repetitive tasks while allowing employees to spend more time on judgement, creativity, communication, customer relationships and problem-solving. AI adoption should improve the quality and productivity of work, rather than functioning solely as a headcount-reduction exercise.
Protect entry-level routes
Maintain graduate schemes, apprenticeships, internships and junior roles, even where AI can perform some routine tasks. Employers should redesign these positions so early-career workers learn to supervise, question and work alongside AI while developing the human expertise required for progression.
Invest in technical and human skills
AI literacy is important, but technical training alone will not be sufficient. Organisations should also build communication, critical thinking, teamwork, ethical judgement, creativity and leadership capabilities.
Support workers of every age
Workforce transition planning must extend beyond graduates. With nearly one in four workers worldwide now aged over 55, employers must ensure older employees have equal access to AI training, role redesign and development opportunities. Assuming younger workers are naturally confident with AI – or that older workers cannot adapt – risks reinforcing age bias and overlooking valuable experience.
Monitor the impact on women and lower-paid workers
Because the report identifies women, clerical employees and below-average earners as particularly exposed, employers should assess whether automation plans could create unequal outcomes. Impact assessments should examine redundancy risk, access to retraining, pay progression and the availability of alternative roles.
Maintain human oversight
AI systems should support rather than replace accountable human decision-making, particularly in recruitment, promotion, performance management and redundancy processes. Workers should know when AI is being used and who is responsible for reviewing its outputs.
Measure job quality as well as productivity
Employers should evaluate whether AI is creating:
- Better and more meaningful jobs.
- Fair workloads.
- Opportunities for learning and progression.
- Stronger collaboration.
- Improved employee wellbeing.
- Equitable access to advancement.
Productivity gains should not be assessed in isolation from their effect on people.
Provide transparency and reassurance
Employees are more likely to trust AI adoption when leaders explain:
- Why particular systems are being introduced.
- Which tasks or roles may change.
- What retraining will be available.
- How employee data will be protected.
- Which decisions will retain human oversight.
- How productivity gains will benefit workers as well as the organisation.
FUTURE OF AI AT WORK
The London AI and Jobs Taskforce report rejects both uncritical optimism and predictions of inevitable mass unemployment. Instead, it argues that AI’s effect on employment will be determined by decisions about leadership, job design, investment, worker participation and access to opportunity.
For employers, the central question is no longer simply whether to adopt AI. It is whether that adoption strengthens human capability, preserves career pathways and shares the benefits of increased productivity fairly. London’s proposed approach offers a model based on early intervention, collaboration and responsible innovation.
Whether it succeeds will depend on how quickly employers, educators, government and workers turn those recommendations into meaningful action.
Click here to read the full taskforce report.
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