Jeremy Hunt throws out concerns over job losses and insists UK needs to “win” AI race
Jeremy Hunt said he doesn’t “buy” the argument that artificial intelligence (AI) could create job losses as he insisted the UK should push ahead in harnessing the technology.
Speaking at the Politico TechUK launch event in London, the Chancellor said use of artificial intelligence in technology was crucial to tackling the UK’s “growth challenge,” as insisted the UK needs to “win the race.”
Hunt’s comments come as tech giants are racing to integrate the technology into their services. Several industry figures have warned of its risks.
Most recently, Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai warned that society was not fully prepared for the rapid advancement of AI.
In an interview with CBS’s Scott Pelley for the “60 Minutes” programme, which aired on Sunday, Pichai said AI gave him sleepless nights and could be harmful if not used correctly and urged greater governmental scrutiny.
Elon Musk also added his signature to an open letter last month calling for a pause in the technology’s development.
Pressed on whether he agreed with Musk, the Chancellor said: “Of course there’s a potential for this technology to be used in a bad way. We need to be very mindful of that… But I don’t believe it’s possible to opt out of this race. I think we have to win the race and be super smart about the way we regulate it”
The UK needs to embrace AI and maths skills
Hunt said that jobs would change as a result of AI technology but that the UK needed to “rethink” its approach to skills.
He pointed to the UK’s “Maths to 18” proposal as a way to ensure workers would have “basic skills” and added that Uber drivers, for example, would need these in the instance the UK moves to driverless cars.
Hunt was also quizzed on the UK’s answer to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which has pledged billions of dollars to subsidise domestic chip production and strengthen its supply chains.
Hunt insisted the UK would not compete with US policies. He added that taking a “protectionist” stance would be a “big step backwards.”
“The thing that makes you competitive is the quality of your ideas, not the amount of your subsidies,” he said.
Hunt admitted he had deleted his TikTok account out of concern for its location features, but had tested out OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
When he asked the software whether he is a good chancellor, the bot replied: “That’s Rishi Sunak.”