BoE governor Bailey warns of AI impact on jobs market

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence will cause labour market disruptions akin to those experienced during the Industrial Revolution.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Bailey said workers need to upskill in order to find employment in the jobs market of tomorrow, saying it would be "a lot easier" for candidates with AI-centred "training, education [and] skills".

“As you saw in the industrial revolution, now over time, I think we can now sort of look back and say it didn’t cause mass unemployment, but it did displace people from jobs and this is important," Bailey said.

“My guess would be that it’s most likely that AI may well have a similar effect. So we need to be prepared for that, in a sense.”

The BoE policymaker said that while the potential for the UK was "pretty substantial", it would "take some time" for the economic benefits to bear fruit.

"We do have to think about: what is it doing to the pipeline of people? Is it changing it or not?" he said. "I think if it's people working with AI, I'm not sure it will change the pipeline, but I think we're right to have an eye on that point."