King’s launches AI workforce futures programme

King’s College London has launched AI and Workforce Futures, an ongoing programme focused on how AI is reshaping jobs, professions, skills and employer behaviour. The initiative responds to rising concern over labour market disruption, including warnings from London Mayor Sadiq Khan that AI could bring a “new era of mass unemployment” and affect entry-level jobs first.

A UK Government analysis cited by King’s found that Around 70% of UK workers are in occupations containing tasks that AI could potentially perform and enhance. Research from King’s College London also points to early effects on the UK job market, while a study by the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and The Policy Institute found that seven in ten UK adults are worried about the economic impact of AI on jobs, six in ten believe it will eliminate more jobs than it creates, and one in five think it will cause civil unrest.

The programme aims to create a national hub for evidence, debate and coordination on AI and workforce futures. It will develop a continuously updated intelligence base, connect research with policy and employer decision-making, support AI literacy and career resilience for King’s students and emerging professionals, and facilitate new research in the economics of AI and workforce change.