Women are far more likely than men to work in jobs exposed to AI’s impact.
Data from the Greater London Authority (GLA) has found that nearly 60 percent of jobs considered to be at risk of change from AI in the U.K. capital are filled by females, despite them making up 45 percent of London’s workforce.
The report discovered that eight percent of women working in the city are in occupations with a “high” risk of change from AI, compared to only four percent of men.
Administrative and customer service jobs are thought to be at the highest risk.
Over 300,000 administrative roles in London face the most severe risk of AI exposure as their tasks “align most closely with GenAI capabilities,” the report revealed.
Females are overrepresented in the occupations where generative AI is “highly capable,” making them more likely to be impacted by the shift towards AI.
However, the report did stress that it is not a forecast of job losses and only indicates where job content is most likely to change as a result of the tech.
Workers in London are “substantially” more affected by AI than the rest of the U.K., with around 2.4 million people (46 percent) estimated to be in jobs where AI could automate a share of their responsibilities.
The city’s mayor Sadiq Khan says that the tech presents “real opportunities” but also poses a threat to London’s jobs market.
Announcing a new London AI and Jobs Taskforce on Tuesday, Khan said: “My approach to AI is rooted in realism – being clear-eyed and pragmatic about the potential perils, while also being alert to – and enthusiastic about – the amazing possibilities.”
The mayor had warned earlier this year that AI could lead to an unwanted new era of unemployment and inequality.
Khan said: “We mustn’t drift, absentmindedly, into a future we didn’t ask for and don’t want.
“We need to wake up and make a choice: seize the potential of AI and use it as a superpower for positive transformation and creation, or surrender to it and sit back and watch as it becomes a weapon of mass destruction of jobs.”
