Half of UK adults worry that AI will take or alter their job, poll finds
Half of adults in the UK are concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on their job, according to a poll, as union leaders call for a “step change” in the country’s approach to new technologies,Job losses or changes to terms and conditions were the biggest worries for the 51% of 2,600 adults surveyed for the Trades Union Congress who said they were concerned about the technology,AI is a particular concern for workers aged between 25 and 34, with nearly two-thirds (62%) of those surveyed reporting such worries,The TUC poll was released as a string of large employers – including BT, Amazon , and Microsoft – have said in recent months that advances in AI could lead them to cut jobs,Britain’s job market is slowing amid a cooling economy, with the UK’s official jobless rate at a four-year high of 4.
7%, although most economists do not believe this is linked to an acceleration in investment in AI.The TUC believes AI technologies can benefit workers and help improve public services, but is calling on the government to involve workers and trade unions in AI as it is rolled out across workplaces, in order to protect jobs and provide training to people whose roles are replaced by AI.Half of those surveyed (50%) said they wanted a say in how AI is used in workplaces and across the wider economy, rather than leaving it to businesses, while only 17% of respondents opposed this.As part of its plan for AI, the TUC is calling for conditions to be attached to the billions of pounds of public money being spent on AI research and development, to ensure workers are not replaced by new technologies.In addition, it wants assurances that workers will receive a “digital dividend” of the productivity gains achieved through AI, by requiring companies to invest in workforce skills and training, by improving pay and conditions for employees and by empowering workers to shape companies’ decision making, including workers on boards.
The union body warns that without such guardrails, where workers are allowed to determine when and how AI is used, the increased use of new technologies could lead to “rampant inequality”, a deterioration in working conditions and greater social unrest,The UK’s social security and skills systems should also be strengthened, the TUC said, to help to retain and reskill workers whose jobs are put at risk by AI,The TUC’s assistant general secretary, Kate Bell, said: “AI could have transformative potential, and if developed properly, workers can benefit from the productivity gains this technology may bring,”She added: “The alternative is bleak,Left unmanaged and in the wrong hands, the AI revolution could entrench rampant inequality as jobs are degraded or displaced, and shareholders get richer.
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Trump is out to end the Fed’s autonomy. Here’s how he’s trying to get his way
When Donald Trump stepped up his campaign to influence the US Federal Reserve, he traveled less than a mile from the White House, to tour the central bank’s headquarters. But as the administration considers how to actually get what it wants, one of the US president’s acolytes looked about 500 miles south.A condominium above the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, is at the heart of an extraordinary battle over the future of the Fed, and the independence of its power of the world’s largest economy.For a generation, presidents have respected the Fed’s autonomy. They might disagree with its decisions
Debenhams may sell Pretty Little Thing and shut distribution hub
The online fashion seller Debenhams, formerly known as Boohoo, is considering the sale of its Pretty Little Thing (PLT) brand and the closure of its distribution centre in Burnley, which could lead to the loss of 1,251 jobs.The company said it was “exploring a range of long-term options”, understood to include closure for the Burnley site and the sale of an already closed warehouse in the US amid falling sales and widening losses.The potential sale of Pretty Little Thing comes five years after Boohoo bought out a minority stake for more than £260m from Umar Kamani, the son of Boohoo’s executive chair and co-founder Mahmud Kamani, and business partner Paul Papworth.In delayed annual results, Debenhams said pretax losses had widened to £264m in the year to 28 February, from £164m a year earlier. One-off costs, including a writedown on its US warehouse and restructuring costs, amounted to £199m
Who is Lisa Cook, the Fed governor facing removal by Trump?
Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to sit on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, is now facing removal by Donald Trump, another obstacle in a long line she has faced and written about during her experiences as one of a small number of Black women in the field of economics.Cook was nominated to the Fed in 2022 by then president Joe Biden after building a career that spanned both government and academia, including work at the treasury department, service in the White House, and a long record of scholarly contributions.But her path to confirmation wasn’t without hostility. Republicans opposed her nomination, forcing Vice-President Kamala Harris to break a 50–50 Senate deadlock. That narrow vote made Cook the first, and so far the only, Black woman to serve as a Fed governor
More pain for Reeves as government borrowing cost nears 27-year high
The cost of UK government borrowing has jumped to near a 27-year high, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to reveal how she will tackle the deficit in the public finances before the autumn budget.The yield, or interest rate, on the UK’s 30-year bond rose by eight basis points (0.08 of a percentage point) on Tuesday to 5.62%.That pushed the UK’s long-term borrowing costs close to a spike in April of 5
M&S brings Australia’s national treat the lamington to UK high street
It has been a fixture of bake sales and cafes in Australia for more than a century. Now the lamington is making its debut on the British high street as Marks & Spencer launches its own version.The chain will stock two varieties: a “classic” chocolate and coconut lamington and a caramelised biscuit version, which went viral on social media after being launched by Woolworths in Australia last month. Both will be baked in the UK and sold in packs of two for £4.The lamington is traditionally a square piece of sponge dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to sue Trump administration over its attempt to fire her
The Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook will sue the Trump administration over its bid to fire her over unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud, her attorney has said.Donald Trump announced he was firing Cook on Monday night, in an extraordinary move that marks the latest escalation in the US president’s attack on the central bank’s independence.But Trump has “no authority” to remove her from the Fed’s board of governors, Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued in a statement to reporters, saying: “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action.”In the meantime, she plans to stay put on the Fed’s powerful board of governors – and rate-setting policy committee
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