A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) cautions that up to 8 million jobs in the UK are at high risk of being automated by artificial intelligence (AI), with women, younger employees, and low-wage workers facing the greatest threat.
The study highlights a critical juncture as businesses increasingly integrate generative AI to automate tasks, which could lead to significant job losses in administrative, secretarial, and customer service roles within three to five years.
The IPPR’s analysis of 22,000 tasks across all job types found that while 11% are currently at risk, this could surge to 59% as AI evolves to perform more complex tasks. The report projects a worst-case scenario where 7.9 million jobs are displaced without any GDP growth, contrasting with a best-case scenario where AI augmentation boosts the economy by 4%, or £92 billion annually. The IPPR urges government intervention to avert a “jobs apocalypse” and leverage AI for economic and living standards improvement.
