AI will boost the UK economy by £400 billion, according to Google.
Individuals will reap benefits, but they are still concerned for their jobs.
It’s time for HR to steady the ship and make assurances.
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Google’s first UK impact report since 2020 finds AI will add £400 billion to the UK economy by 2023, as reported by the Independent.
That’s equal to an annual incremental increase of 2.6% for the rest of the decade.
AI is also predicted to create over £200 billion in additional revenue to UK public services, an increase that will be felt across the country.
Google’s report further found that generative AI’s impact will reach far wider than that.
“This shift that we’re going through is the most profound platform shift that any of us have lived through. We are very conscious of the impact that this technology will have on people,” Debbie Weinstein, Google’s UK and Ireland managing director, told PA news.
While the large scale financial and economic benefits of the new tech super tool are obvious, individuals are still concerned for their jobs.
The good news is that there is little cause for panic. Just last week, KPMG found that 60% of jobs will face “little to no direct impact,” and that just 10% of jobs will experience “significant disruption” from generative AI tools.
In the face of a more-complicated-than-ever global economic landscape and rapid tech changes, it’s time for HR to take the lead.
HR, step up and steady the AI ship
With employees on edge, but organizations ready to reap the benefits of AI – as a recent IBM report found – HR departments need to strike a balance.
They need to become educators, prepping their people for the actual effect of massive new AI tools – spoiler alert: there most likely won’t be widespread and dystopian joblessness.
Like nearly every technology before (save for robots), generative artificial intelligence will actually create jobs.
“Clearly there will be some jobs that will be lost, but also a whole new set of jobs that will be created,” continued Google’s Weinstein.
The World Economic Forum agreed in its 2023 Future of Jobs Report that just 25% of companies believe AI will cause job losses, while 50% believe the tech will create new jobs.
Of course, some industries will be affected more than others, but one thing seems clear. The best word to describe this transition into the age of AI won’t be layoffs; it will be reskilling.
Weinstein explained that Google itself is focusing on “upskilling” their workers, stating “we want to make sure everyone has the skills they need.”
The skills of tomorrow are not the skills of today; people will rely on AI tools for things like research, writing, and menial task completion. In place of these duties, workers will need to develop cognitive skills like creative and analytical thinking.
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