Industry leaders gathered during London Tech Week at the House of Lords for a high-level summit on the impact of AI on the jobs market and wider UK economy.
Chaired by Steven George-Hilley of Centropy PR, the debate saw experts from leading law firms, financial services and tech startups discuss how AI is reshaping the workforce.
It also played host to conversation around the risks and talent pipeline required to maximise its economic benefits.
“The financial services industry houses vast quantities of sensitive data that is constantly subject to threats from malicious cyber actors, especially with the rise of AI-powered attacks,” said cyber expert Achi Lewis-Dhaliwal, assistant VP, UK, EMEA & India at Absolute Security.
“These House of Lords discussions should be grounded in the understanding of cyber risks against the UK’s most important industries, and the cyber resilience postures that can ensure they remain operational.”
Meanwhile Leigh Allen, strategic advisor at Vienna-headquartered Cellebrite, commented: “AI is a critical enabler in unlocking digital evidence and significantly reducing investigation times, greatly aiding police forces and combating national security threats.
“At Cellebrite, we combine ethical access to digital evidence alongside artificial intelligence to equip agencies to respond and counteract digital threats to make our society a safer place.”
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James Tuttiett, sales director for UK & EMEA at FDM Group, added: “There’s a lack of a united vision and strategy across all industries when it comes to AI.
“We’re seeing that most organisations are still in the experimental phase, testing the ways that AI can influence and improve their business functions while driving greater efficiency.
“Whilst there is not a one size fits all approach being adapted, what is clear is that the integration of AI is imminent and creating an AI literate workforce for the future is vital.
“As we look at the impact that AI will have on future jobs, more emphasis needs to be placed on our understanding of the questions we ask of AI and not just the answers it gives.
“Embracing AI and understanding how prompt engineering can improve all of our careers is essential.”
Ulla Technology founder, Arkadiy Ukolov, said: “Privacy and data security must remain a critical focus as AI adoption continues to skyrocket, especially as most popular AI tools send data to third-party AI providers which often use client data to train models.
“When it comes to sensitive meeting discussions, for example, it creates a significant risk of data leaks, so placing ethics at the centre of House of Lords discussions is vital as AI develops.”