Fears that AI will lead to wholesale job losses are unfounded, according to a new whitepaper. The report, published by British AI software firm Automated Analytics, found that none of its 5,000 clients across the UK and US reported laying off staff as a result of AI implementation.
Today's launch of the whitepaper, "Unlocking Data, Unlocking People: Harnessing the Power of AI to Transform Your Business," at Scale Space White City in London's White City Innovation District, makes the case that AI is actually a catalyst for growth and nota threat to jobs.
Despite such evidence to the contrary, the study reveals a lingering fear of AI among business leaders in the UK.
According to a YouGov survey commissioned by Automated Analytics, over half of senior decision-makers believe that AI will eliminate more jobs than it will create. Only 17% believe AI will create more jobs than it eliminates.
This hesitancy, the report warns, has serious consequences for the UK economy. As US firms increasingly embrace AI, so British companies risk being left behind. The UK needs to move the conversation from regulating AI to innovating with AI if it wants to stay competitive, insists Mark Taylor, chief executive at Automated Analytics.
AI isn't about the replacement of jobs; it's about enhancing productivity and creating new opportunities," Taylor said. "Our whitepaper provides real-life examples of how AI will drive growth in efficiency and competitiveness. The UK cannot afford to fall behind in this key area".
The whitepaper sets out a number of case studies that demonstrate the positive impact of AI on business: British Gas' Dyno-Rod: AI has helped it to halve the number of service calls by improving customer journey understanding while providing franchise operations with 100% visibility.
Pizza Hut US: Restaurant Management Group, the fourth largest US franchisee, has cut recruitment costs by a million dollars and hiked hires by 42%.Fourth (UK): The hospitality recruitment firm saw candidate flow soar 220% with extreme cost-per-application reduction within 30 days of deploying its AI-powered TalentTrack software. Taylor also raised a red flag on the cultural gap between the US and UK in embracing new technologies.
Whereas the US leads the way, the UK has been too focused on regulation. Thiswhitepaper proves many of those fears about AI are baseless, while AI actually has a keyrole to play in driving the UK's economy.This whitepaper is more of an encouragement to UK businesses to embrace AI as a keydriver of innovation and competitiveness in the global market. While there ought to belittle doubt that businesses should adopt AI responsibly, this whitepaper should helpdissipate any fears of mass job losses.
