In Mansion House speech, mayor will talk of opportunities technology offers but highlight mass unemployment risk
Sadiq Khan is to warn in a major speech that artificial intelligence (AI) could destroy swathes of jobs in London and “usher in a new era of mass unemployment” unless ministers act now.
In his annual Mansion House speech, the London mayor will say the capital is “at the sharpest edge of change” because of its reliance on white-collar workers in the finance and creative industries, and professional services such as law, accounting, consulting and marketing.
The mayor will argue that “we have a moral, social and economic duty to act” to ensure that new jobs are created to replace those that will disappear, with entry-level and junior jobs the first to go.
In the speech on Thursday night, Khan will highlight research that suggests 70% of skills in the average job will have changed by 2030.
