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Artificial Intelligence: Unemployment

Asked by Blake StephensonConservativeDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled Answered 12 January 2026UIN 102052

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the take-up of AI on unemployment.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan

We know that AI is transforming workplaces, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones, but its future scale remains uncertain. Government is planning against a range of plausible outcomes and monitoring data closely. Our goal is to ensure access to good, meaningful work while harnessing AI’s benefits to boost growth, productivity, living standards and worker wellbeing, and mitigate risks.

The Get Britain Working White Paper outlines how government will address labour market challenges and spread opportunity and economic prosperity that AI presents to the British public. We are also supporting workforce readiness through providing streamlined access to digital training through the AI Skills Hub and partnering with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030.

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