nice work if you can get it
As we’re all more than aware, Elon Musk, is prone to a little exaggeration. His $2trn DOGE savings pledge versus the $32.5bn reality. The ‘Hyperloop’ hyperbole that, for over ten years, promised an ultra-high-speed public transportation system in which passengers travelled in electric pods that would easily see the journey time from Boston to New York reduced to less than half an hour. The fact that Tesla would undoubtedly have fully autonomous cars in production by 2018. A million robotaxis on the road by 2019? Sure, why not, he promised.
We must surely be getting the idea by now that the guy’s a bit of a b*llsh*tter, but there’s something Musk said last year that’s generating a genuinely interesting response. At a 2024 Paris tech summit he simply warned that there wouldn’t be any jobs for anyone in thirty years due to AI.
This year a response was finally forthcoming. Reassuring that it took so long, or maybe it’s the way of proving it wasn’t AI generated. Matt Clifford, No 10’s AI guru, explained “this isn’t actually a question about jobs, but about control” as he is confident the pervasive technology will help with jobs, as opposed to obliterate them. Furthermore, Elon’s comments were apparently designed to provoke a reaction, to ensure industry responded, took the issue seriously and did not ignore his future. Yeah, right. All very reassuring. But back in the real world, while handsomely-paid disruptors and cutting-edge commentators are discussing occupational theorems and work-place philosophies, it’s a tough place to be.
No matter how the government chooses to calculate a more palatable number, the unemployment rate is rising and UK companies are either holding-back on hiring or are simply unable and unwilling to do so. Whether it’s because of the employers’ NI contributions increase leading to firms having less cash to splash, or a more general lack of money circulating in the economy, it’s not a fantastically rewarding time to be outta work or job hunting.
There is evidence of this in some of our key industries. Back in May, the Royal College of Nursing expressed major concerns about the lack of jobs for newly qualified nurses. Anecdotally, one was more likely to be an au-pair or nanny than a nurse. Similarly, the Royal College of Midwives found that more than eight outta ten midwives qualifying this year feared they would be unable to find a job. A BMA survey last week reported that seven in ten doctors were considering leaving due a lack of both current and future roles. Given the need for these skills within society, there’s a disconnect somewhere.
Out-with health, a worryingly large number of recent, and post graduates, are finding it nigh-on impossible to get into the world of work, and not just in their field of qualification. Once upon a time it had to be the right job, now it’s any job. And there’s another year’s worth of graduates about to hit the decks to further decrease everyone’s chances. Hoping for an international or even a national economic growth spurt to put everything right seems overly-optimistic at almost a Musk level!
Every new iteration of technology, from the industrial revolution onwards has resulted in lower numbers of employment dressed-up as efficiencies and rationalisation but the full, and potentially, devastating impact of Artificial Intelligence, threatens to impact the number of jobs available to us all on an unprecedented and catastrophic level. I genuinely worry that Musk will be closer to the truth than we’d all like and proving his AI prediction wrong is going to be a tough job.
