Report: AI seen to bring job boon

Artificial intelligence could help create up to more than 7 million jobs in Britain over the next 20 years and help boost the economy, a report by leading accountancy firm PwC has revealed.

Although there are fears that sectors including manufacturing and transportation will suffer job losses because of the increasing automation of such roles, the report says that the number created by the introduction and expansion in the workplace of the technology known as AI - estimated at around 7.2 million - will be greater than those lost, which is thought to be around 7 million.

"We have estimated that AI could have a positive effect on GDP by 2030," PwC's chief economist John Hawksworth told London newspaper City AM.

"That extra growth GDP will mean people's incomes are higher, creating demand for goods and services which will require more people to meet those services."

One of the areas most expected to benefit from AI is health, where PwC estimates there will be a 22 percent increase in jobs.

With the challenges presented by an increasingly aging population, AI is likely to be particularly useful, but Hawksworth admitted there were some roles where it might not be deemed suitable.

"While some jobs may be displaced, many more are likely to be created as real incomes rise and patients still want the 'human touch' from doctors, nurses and other health and social care workers.

"On the other hand, as driverless vehicles roll out across the economy and factories and warehouses become increasingly automated, the manufacturing and transportation and storage sectors could see a reduction in employment levels."

After healthcare, the professional and technical sector including businesses such as law, accounting and architecture is likely to be the second-biggest beneficiary, with education also seeing an increase in employment.

In terms of regional impact, London and the southeast of England, home to many of the country's professional and technical services, are expected to come off best, ahead of Wales and Scotland.

England's East Midlands region is expected to feel the strain most, however, with an estimated minus 1.1 percent displacement of employment.

A French-developed robot called Pepper, being manufactured by Japan's Soft-Bank Robotics, is already being used in more than 100 mobile phone shops in Japan, and HSBC plans to introduce them at its main US branch in Manhattan.

The Daily Mail reports that Pepper was tried out helping residents at a care home in Essex, England, toward the end of last year, with further trials conducted in Poland and Greece.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com