Artificial intelligence is beginning to create jobs in the UK. About 54% of British companies have stated that they have created new roles thanks to this technology, according to a survey by Lloyds. A quarter of companies are increasingly hiring candidates with AI skills, and one-fifth are adding new positions specifically related to AI.
This may indicate a shift in narrative, as media reports have so far been dominated by news of job losses due to AI. Banks are linking layoffs to artificial intelligence, the technology is making entry-level job vacancies increasingly rare and more important, and hiring for positions such as software developers and graphic designers has declined since 2022 in major cities like London.
This trend aligns with the idea of “creative destruction,” developed by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in the 1940s. It suggests that innovations destroy old jobs but simultaneously create new ones. Meanwhile, data on the impact of AI on the economy remains ambiguous.
Impact assessment and vulnerability
Although British workers are more vulnerable to the impact of AI than their colleagues, Bloomberg Economics suggests that the technology’s impact on jobs may be overstated. The number of vacancies in AI-susceptible positions had already been declining before the launch of ChatGPT, while employment in the most vulnerable sectors has actually increased since 2022. Economist Ana Andrade makes a direct conclusion: “neither hopes nor fears have materialized yet.”
The hope for the UK economy, which is in dire need of stimulus, lies in the fact that companies are moving beyond AI experiments and starting to use it to stimulate economic growth and create jobs.
Gender inequality and the role of interns
Women are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions in the AI sector worldwide, holding only 13% of leadership positions compared to 19% in other sectors, according to an analysis by LinkedIn of about 15,000 companies.
This disparity raises concerns about long-term economic mobility, as the number of AI-related vacancies in the US has doubled in recent years, and such positions are typically paid more than twice the average wage. The lack of diversity in AI development may also exacerbate existing inequalities on a larger scale.
The banking industry’s push for AI adoption means that some interns this year are teaching senior bankers how to use the technology and are creating agents to optimize workflows. Bloomberg News spoke with nearly a dozen summer analysts and interns who reported that AI has changed expectations for them even in non-technical positions, as banks seek to leverage the digital literacy of Generation Z.
Source: Bloomberg
