Automation could wipe out third of jobs by 2030’s

The rise of robots could lead to ‘unprecedented’ change and wipe out over a third of jobs in some areas by the 2030’s a new report warns. 

A ‘heat map’ of Britain shows the areas most at risk of automation, with workers in the ex industrial heartlands of the North and Midlands most likely to lose their jobs.  

The upheaval tossed up by ‘supercharged’ technological change over the next 15 years could make the industrial revolution pale in comparison, the study says.

The report, The impact of AI in UK constituencies, by think-tank Future Advocacy, slams the government for failing to prepare for the rapid change looming. 

Researchers said the results are ‘startling’ and told ministers to urgently look at new education and training to help the country adapt to the challenge.

A new ‘heat map’ of Britain assesses the risk of automation to jobs in every constituency in Britain. It shows that the UK’s former industrial heartlands of the Midlands and the north are most at risk from the march of the machines 

Meanwhile, a YouGov poll carried out for the report found that just seven per cent of Brits are worried about losing their jobs to automation. 

The report said that ‘change is coming and its scale and scope will be unprecedented’.

It shows that locals in John McDonnell’s west London constituency of Hayes and Harlington are most at risk of losing their jobs to the march of the robots. 

FIVE CONSTITUENCIES MOST AT RISK FROM AUTOMATION 

1. Hayes and Harlington, west London
2. Crawley, Sussex
3. North Warwickshire
4. Alyn and Deeside, Wales
5. Brentford and Isleworth, west London

It adds: ‘Our findings are startling. The proportion of jobs at high risk of automation by the early 2030’s varies from 22 per cent to 39 per cent for different constituencies.

‘Shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s constituency of Hayes and Harlington is predicted to see the highest rates of automation.’

It adds: ‘The highest levels of future automation are predicted in Britain’s industrial heartlands of the Midlands and the north of England, as well as industrial centres of Scotland.’  

Transportation and storage sectors are most at risk of automation at 56 per cent, followed by manufacturing at 46 per cent and retail at 44 per cent, the report warns.

The researchers said the turbulence and upheaval stirred up by the industrial revolution has been blamed for the rise of  communism and fascism and warned further political turbulence may lie ahead.

The report said the technological change can be seen behind the Brexit  vote and Donald Trump’s election as US president.

It adds: ‘As artificial intelligence supercharges  automation of the next decade and hits different groups differently, there will again be profound social and political consequences.’

The report warns that many British workers face losing their jobs to the rise of automation. Boris the robot (pictured left) can load a dishwasher, while Pepper the humanoid (pictured right) was unveiled by Japanese mechanics in 2015

The London constituency of Hayes and Harlington, which is represented by the shadow chancellor John McDonnell, is most at risk of automation, the report finds

The report said Britain can reap is home to ‘world-beating artificial intelligence’ and can reap the rewards of its growth – but only if the government responds to it. 

But in a withering indictment of ministers, it adds: ‘So far no party has anything like an adequate policy response to maximising the opportunities and minimising the risks that lie ahead.’ 

The report says that the march of the machines could see  new jobs created – but is remains unclear if this will happen or not.

It calls for the government to commission further detailed analysis into it and to work out ways to help communities most at risk of losing their jobs to adapt.

It also calls for training and education to change to meet the challenge and for ministers to make AI a central pillar of the country’s industrial strategy.

The paper also calls for minsters to consider imposing robot taxes to ensure the benefits and burdens of the change.

The report reveals the constituencies most at risk from automation, with Hayes and Harlington in the top spot followed by Crawley in Sussex in second.

North Warwickshire is the third most at risk with 37.1 per cent of jobs in the firing line, followed by Alyn and Deeeside in Wales at 36.8 per cent and Brentford and Isleworth in west London in fifth at 36.8 per cent.

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