British PM Keir starmer said that it was time to “push beyond” concerns about AI posing a threat to jobs for humans — contradicting some of the biggest players in tech.
Speaking today at London Tech Week, Starmer called on industry to embed AI across the UK economy from healthcare to education.
Starmer says that by automating administrative tasks, artificial intelligence can free people up to focus on “human work.” This, he says, will make us “more human.” Satya Nadella (19659005) and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia.
The of EU tech
The latest rumblings on the EU tech scene
A story from our wise old founder Boris and some questionable AI artwork. Every week, it’s in your inbox for free. Sign up today!
They claim that AI can help people do more meaningful work by taking over the grunt tasks, such as filling in forms, summarizing emails, or analysing excel spreadsheets.
But not all tech leaders share this optimism. Sebastian Siemiatkowski is the CEO of Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna. He warned that rapid AI deployment could trigger a recession because it would decimate white-collar job opportunities.
Speaking to the Times Tech PodcastSiemiatkowski claimed AI robots had already enabled Klarna, a Swedish fintech unicorn, to reduce its workforce from 5,500 down to 3,000, and replace 700 customer-service roles.
He said that there would be an impact on white-collar positions, and that this usually leads to a short-term recession. He also criticized tech leaders for “downplaying AI’s consequences on jobs” and urged urgent societal preparedness. Dario Amodei of Anthropic painted a more bleak picture in a CNN interview last month. He warned that AI would eliminate “half of the entry-level white collar jobs” in five years and could push unemployment to 20%.
AI is already linked to job loss in many professions including translation, customer services, copywriting and paralegal work. Ironically, the tech alsothreatens jobs for the developers who created it. The most vulnerable jobs are those at the entry-level level that graduates depend on to launch their careers.
Starmer’s vision of AI making us more human through mundane tasks paints an optimistic future, but current trends paint a much more complex picture. Siemiatkowski and Amodei are among the many people who have warned that we are sleepwalking towards economic uncertainty without urgent preparation and governance. The future of AI will be a hot issue at theTNW Conference, which will take place in Amsterdam on June 19-20. Tickets are now available– use code TNWXMEDIA2025 during checkout to receive 30% off.
