British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to ensure no community is left behind in the “technological revolution” by using artificial intelligence tools to help people find work.
In his speech at the start of London Tech Week on Monday, Starmer will pledge to support AI in business, leveraging online tools to provide personalized career advice, according to a Downing Street release.
The rapid adoption of AI has raised concerns in the United States that the technology will destroy jobs and shift wealth back to tech giants. In his speech, Mr Starmer said the government was clear that the changes “must work for everyone, not just the privileged few”.
A new ‘AI assistant’ designed to support career development and job searches around the clock will be trialled by the Department for Work and Pensions for three months. The tool acts as a “job center in your pocket,” Starmer said.
“We are supporting British businesses to lead the way and drive growth and investment that leads to more jobs and stronger communities,” the Chancellor will say. “And we are using technology to bring opportunity to every corner of the country, helping people get to work, tackling inequality, increasing skills and building a fairer future.”
The plan builds on AI tools the government is developing with education technology companies, AI companies and startups to make one-on-one tutoring more affordable for students. More than 50 companies have bid to develop the tool, of which up to eight will receive £2.4 million (RM13.03 million) in support. The government hopes to roll out the tool to 450,000 children receiving free school meals next autumn.
Starmer also defended the UK’s success at the summit, saying the UK has the world’s third-largest technology ecosystem with more than 200 unicorns worth more than US$1 billion (RM4.07 billion), and British startups raised almost half of Europe’s technology investments this year.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said over the weekend that the country would “aggressively” acquire stakes in fast-growing British companies to help companies scale up in the UK rather than move overseas.
Kyle told the Sunday Times: “The desire to support growing British innovation will lead us to take more risks and raise the risk threshold. I want us to be aggressively ambitious.”
Speaking at a CBI business group meeting last week, Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, warned that AI “could put workers out of work” and that wealth created in the UK could be “sent to big tech companies in the US”.
He warned that this would “disrupt the foundations of the UK economy” as tax revenues would plummet. “Right now it doesn’t matter, but we can see how it will matter in 10 years.” – Bloomberg
