Workers ‘must be trained to cope with rise of artificial intelligence’

● AI could soon overhaul business models and leave their staff sidelined

Businesses and the government must ready the nation’s workforce for the rise of artificial intelligence to ensure companies can ride out the “cliff edges” created by the technological revolution, according to PWC.

The professional services firm said AI had the power to overhaul business models and could leave workers sidelined and companies struggling to adjust unless preparations are made now.

It said firms and the state must step up their efforts to improve the education system and help workers retrain to ensure AI delivers the muchheralded boost to the UK economy.

Jon Andrews, Pwc’s head of technology and investments, said: “There are different sectors that will be impacted in different ways.

“The vast majority [of workers] will not see the change happening to them and they will have a very different job by 2030. But some of them you can see coming and you can actually predict the changes.

“If you take the logistics world, there is going to be a period of time as we move towards autonomous vehicles where it will continue to be cheaper to have an old vehicle that is non-autonomous with a person driving it.

0 Experts believe the rise of AI poses a threat to workers across professions, no longer being solely the stuff of films such as Ex Machina that business case changing.”

Experts believe the rise of AI poses a threat to workers across the professions, from staff in fast-food restaurants to journalists, accountants and doctors.

Around 30 per cent of UK jobs are at high risk of being eradicated by AI by 2030, PWC has estimated.

Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates mooted the possibility of creating a robot tax in order to plug the hole in public finances left by the jobs destroyed by automation.

However, the rise of AI – coined the fourth industrial revolution – will also create new roles for human beings and could drive up productivity and bolster economic growth.

Jonathan Gillham, Pwc’s director of economics, said: “We need to upskill workers that are currently in the labour market and improve our education systems.”