How AI will impact the world of work

What will be the impact of Generative AI on Britain’s workforce in the near to medium-term future? 

A couple of weeks ago, SEC Newgate held a brilliant event exploring the second and third order impacts of Generative AI on the workforce. The talk tackled questions around business and employee perceptions of Generative AI, the current impact of the technology in the workplace, and then the outlook.

The event kicked off with a discussion on perceptions of Generative AI from businesses and employees. Immediately, the panel was unanimous in the need to be discerning of the technology rather than blind adoption, and doing the necessary background work to understand internal pain points would guide adoption. 

What followed was the obvious but striking question, ‘Should I implement, rather than can I implement?’. It was agreed that employers must take everyone on that journey, rather than only a couple of willing employees. That point was particularly relevant, given that colleagues across a workforce will be at different stages of digital adoption.

In the context of the UK Government’s growth plans for AI, it was also argued how the current government is laser-focused on growth zones to support AI technology and jobs. When it comes to considerations around AI ethics, the panel agreed that this should be a foundation of a company’s approach. 

On the impact that we are already seeing in the workplace, and how can AI help, the critical consideration mentioned was efficiency, with questions on whether the technology will unlock time and effort savings, or instead create work for those using the tools.

The scale of training and readjustment when considering the adoption of AI for UK business was spelt out, noting that the number of underskilled workers is significant. 

When considering how core skills at work are predicted to change, the panel shared that 7m will need skilling by 2030, and that 44% of all jobs will need reskilling in total. This underlines a large disconnect between ambition and reality on digital skills, and posed questions around whether we need to restructure the apprenticeship levy to make sure the country is futureproofed.

An interesting application the panel raised was on how AI tools may help those in work who are neurodivergent, such as those with ADHD. The panel agreed that the onus was on employers to identify the skills for the future, and then focus on the mechanisms needed to help people into jobs. 

On final takeaways, the panel agreed that fear was not helpful, especially when it came to narratives around jobs disappearing at the hands of technology. Instead, the panel agreed that we should be thinking about the ways that people work, and the drudgery tasks are where companies can make quick gains.

In terms of how the technology can make a tangible difference in the near future, the panel predicted that language barriers will fall away in the next 5 years, with real-time translation tools significantly affect offshoring.

Ultimately, there was agreement that strategy should come first, and questions should be posed on what companies want AI to help with, what the skills are needed for this, and what data have they got to execute this application? If it can be done, should it?