Unions in the UK want the country’s banks to be willing to retain workers displaced by artificial intelligence.
In the United Kingdom Trade Union Congress Next month, workers’ organizations will call on lenders, insurance companies and accounting firms to Be prepared to help millions of workers whose jobs to be affected by AI, Financial Times reported Tuesday (27 August).
accordancea union representing bank employees will ask the industry at its annual conference in September to fund a “major” program to retrain many of its nearly 2.5 million workers.says the report. The group referred to a report by Citigroup which warned that half of the Jobs in the banking sector are threatened through automation.
“Congress notes with concern a June 2024 report that states that up to 54% of banking jobs and 48% of insurance jobs be displaced by AI in the future,” says an Accord motion published on the TUC website, according to the report. “It is predicted that job losses caused by AI will be higher in the financial services sector than in any other sector of the economy.”
As PYMNTS reported at the time of Citi’s earnings release, the banking giant argued that the transition to a “bot-driven world” raises compliance, security, regulatory and ethical issues.
“Because AI models are known to hallucinate and create information that does not exist, organizations run the risk of AI chatbots “Full autonomy would have a negative impact on the company’s financial position or reputation,” Citi said.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, one of the largest unions, said England was “falling behind” and needed to support “new technologies,” according to the FT report.
AI already plays a role in some redundancieswith companies like IntuitiveManufacturer of TurboTax And QuickBooksand announced last month that it would cut 1,800 jobs as part of a refocus on AI.
However, Intuit is not replacing these employees with AI bots; the company plans to hire an equal number of employees who AI expertise.
Meanwhile, PYMNTS interviewed in April Javed KhanSenior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco collaborationWHO said “We are already seeing the benefits that AI into the workplace and beyond, empowering us all to rethink the way we connect and collaborate.”
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