UK workers must embrace AI or risk falling behind, warns Technology Secretary

'I think most people are approaching this with trepidation,' Peter Kyle says

UK workers must shift from "trepidation" to "exhilaration" when it comes to AI or risk being left behind by those already engaging with the technology, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has warned.

In a bold call to action following a roundtable with major tech companies, the Technology secretary Peter Kyle has urged employees and businesses across the country to "act now" and begin integrating AI into their daily work.

Kyle acknowledged that while breakthroughs like ChatGPT have ignited a wave of excitement and investment in AI, they've also sparked anxiety over job security, especially in sectors such as law, medicine, and finance.

"I think most people are approaching this with trepidation. Once they start [using AI], it turns to exhilaration, because it is a lot more straightforward than people realise, and it is far more rewarding than people expect," Kyle said.

The government, alongside tech giants including Google, Amazon, and BT, has launched a national drive to train 7.5 million people – roughly one-fifth of the UK workforce – in AI skills by 2030.

"There's no one in employment at the moment that is incapable of gaining the skills that will be needed in the economy in the next five years," Kyle said.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned that skilled roles could be displaced, while the International Monetary Fund estimates 60% of jobs in advanced economies like the UK and US are exposed to AI-with half of those potentially at risk.

Despite the risks, Kyle said most people find AI far more approachable and beneficial than expected once they begin using it.

The minister pointed to a notable generational divide in AI adoption, citing data showing that over-55s use AI tools at half the rate of over-35s.

But he insisted the skills gap could be bridged with just two and a half hours of training. "People don't need to get trained in quantum physics," he said. "They need to get trained in the basics of how AI works, how to interact with it, and to explore all of the potential it has for you as an individual in the workplace."

The UK's public sentiment towards AI remains more cautious than in other developed countries.

Recent polling shows that people in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia are more anxious about the rise of AI than citizens in leading EU economies.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed these concerns at London Tech Week, admitting there is scepticism about AI's role in society.

Some institutions, like the Tony Blair Institute, remain optimistic. They argue that while AI may displace some roles in the private sector, it will also create new ones, and that widespread adoption is essential to unlocking these opportunities.

Kyle also spoke about resetting the debate around AI and copyright in light of recent legislative developments.

The passage of the UK's Data (Use and Access) Bill last week came after peers in the House of Lords dropped amendments that would have blocked controversial government proposals to allow AI companies to use copyright-protected material without permission.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said the legislation would free NHS staff and police from over a million hours of admin work, support grieving families and improve online safety.

"This Bill is about using data to grow the economy and improve people's lives," the DSIT said in a statement.

Computing says:

Peter Kyle’s enthusiasm about the potential of AI is understandable in one sense, given the transformative potential of the technology. But the narrative that AI will simply take care of lower order tasks leaving knowledge workers free to focus on strategic and creative work has been eroded by a constant wave of companies announcing AI-driven job cuts. It isn’t irrational to worry about the impact that AI is going to have on the future of work, when it’s already having such an impact on the present.

Kyle’s view that using LLMs is “exhilarating” is interesting given that as the models mature, they seem more likely to make things up rather than less. Last week we had warnings about the impact of AI in the legal system, as lawyers using ChatGPT to enhance their productivity realised in court that the citations they used didn’t exist.

Klarna has also gone public with the fact that it is rolling back AI customer service agents and employing human agents – a reversal of previous policy.