Mayor Pushes AI Skills Drive to Protect London Jobs
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has warned that AI could usher in a new era of mass unemployment if governments, businesses, and regulators fail to act quickly to properly control the technology.
To help rectify the situation, the mayor has unveiled plans for free AI skills training and a new taskforce aimed at protecting jobs in the capital.
AI: A Potential Threat to Employment
Speaking at the annual London government dinner at Mansion House, Sir Sadiq stated that AI risked becoming a “weapon of mass destruction of jobs” unless political leaders intervened with stronger regulation and large-scale skills reform. He acknowledged the technology’s potential to transform public services and boost productivity, but cautioned that its rapid and largely unregulated growth could leave many workers behind.
London is facing the brunt of AI disruption, with the mayor asserting that the impact on the city’s labour market will be nothing short of colossal. He emphasized that without action, old jobs could disappear faster than new ones are created.
The Unique Vulnerability of London’s Economy
According to reports from Sky News, the mayor indicated that London is particularly exposed to upcoming changes due to the industries that dominate its economic profile. Sectors like finance, professional services, and the creative industries are all expected to experience the impacts of automation and generative AI sooner and more intensely than others.
Unlike previous technological revolutions, which primarily affected manual or routine work, this wave of AI will also impact white-collar and knowledge-based jobs. Entry-level office jobs and graduate positions are likely to be among the first to disappear, potentially cutting off an important route into work for young people. Polling conducted by City Hall last November found that 56% of London workers expect AI to affect their jobs within the next year.
Free AI Training and a City-Wide Taskforce
While acknowledging the adverse effects of unregulated AI, Sir Sadiq stressed that the technology does not have to result in widespread job losses. When used responsibly, it could “turbocharge productivity,” improve cancer care, tackle the climate crisis, and ease pressure on public services.
As part of his response, the mayor announced plans to offer free AI skills training to all Londoners, alongside the creation of a London Taskforce on AI. This taskforce will unite experts from government, business, the skills sector, and the tech industry to assess how AI impacts work and recommend strategies for embedding AI across every industry in the capital.
Sir Sadiq aims to ensure AI skills are built “at every level in our workforce” and that the next generation is equipped with the right tools needed to thrive, especially as research suggests around 70% of the skills used in the average job could change by 2030.
Calls for Regulation and Learning from Past Mistakes
Alongside skills reform, the mayor urged for a tougher, faster crackdown on AI regulation. He cited the social media revolution as a cautionary tale, implying that a lack of early guardrails contributed to a youth mental health crisis and a surge in online abuse.
His comments come amid growing concerns over the misuse of AI tools to create non-consensual sexualized deepfake images, including a recent controversy involving Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot. Ofcom is investigating potential breaches of UK rules, while X has announced new restrictions on how the tool can be used.
Sir Sadiq insisted that ethical values must be “hardwired into the code” of technologies developed in London. However, public response to the mayor’s announcement has been mixed, with some commenters on platforms like Reddit questioning the specifics of how the government plans to “actively shape” AI’s ongoing development.
Government Response and the Road Ahead
The national government has maintained a more positive stance, arguing that AI will also create new roles and opportunities. A Downing Street spokesperson indicated that ministers plan to train 7.5 million workers, about a fifth of the UK’s entire workforce, in essential AI skills over the coming years, alongside new short courses for businesses launching this spring.
For Sir Sadiq, however, mere optimism is not sufficient. AI represents a moral, social, and economic test. The challenge for London and the UK is to harness its potential while ensuring that change is managed in a way that benefits everyone and protects workers from being left behind in a technological transformation that could redefine the world of work.
The CISA and international partners have issued new guidance on securing AI in operational technology, warning of OT risks and urging stronger governance and safeguards.
