The use of artificial intelligence could boost Britain’s economy by £400 billion ($509bn) by the end of the decade and offers the “most profound” technology shift in our lifetimes, according to a report by Google.
The company said AI technology had the power to rapidly increase UK productivity, which has been in decline for many years, by helping people back to work and unlocking new ways of working.
Google estimates that the economic boost from AI would be equal to annual growth of 2.6 per cent, creating £200 billion in extra revenue for public services and “turning around the recent growth stagnation".
But this estimation does not take into account the effects on some jobs and businesses.
The company insisted that while jobs will be lost through AI across many sectors, the economic benefits and improvements to people’s everyday lives will outweigh the hit.
Google also backed the need for regulation in the report, but stressed it should be a “nuanced approach” that does not stifle innovation in the sector.
“This shift that we’re going through is the most profound platform shift that any of us have lived through," Google’s UK and Ireland managing director, Debbie Weinstein, told PA.
“We are very conscious of the impact that this technology will have on people. Clearly there will be some jobs that will be lost, but also a whole new set of jobs that will be created.”
Ms Weinstein said Google was focusing on increasing workers' skills to ensure they can benefit from AI.
“We want to make sure everyone has the skills they need. We’re aware that this is a fundamental technology shift that will impact all of our lives,” she said.
Is AI the future of art? - in pictures
There have been growing fears over the effects of AI on jobs, industry, copyright, the education sector and privacy – among many other areas.
AI “godfather” Geoffrey Hinton recently resigned from his job at Google, warning that “bad actors” will use the technology to harm others and that the tools he helped to create could spell the end of humanity.
“We’re aware of the fundamental change and the importance of getting it right while managing the downside risks,” Ms Weinstein said.
Google has suggested the launch of a national skills agenda to ensure workers and businesses are not left behind as AI technology develops, with a coalition formed between governments, technology companies, businesses and educational institutions.
It is also putting forward the idea of a UK Research Cloud that would “democratise access to accessible AI technology”.
Its report – produced with public policy research agency Public First – estimates that generative AI could save the average UK worker more than 100 hours a year in what it claims would be the single biggest improvement to worker productivity since the arrival of Google Search.
AI could also save more than 700,000 hours a year in administrative work for British doctors and teachers, which the group believes could offset some of the cost pressures facing the NHS and the education sector.
But the company agrees that regulation is vital as AI technology develops and it is “actively collaborating” with regulators around the world.
Ms Weinstein called for a “global approach” and said governments must be “clear-eyed” and that regulation “preserves the potential” of AI.
“This nuanced approach is important if the UK is to pursue a competitive advantage in attracting inward investment associated with agile regulation,” Google said in its report.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
More on animal trafficking
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
