Workers in UK need to embrace AI or risk being left behind, minister says
Workers in the UK should turn their trepidation over AI into “exhilaration” by giving it a try or they risk being left behind by those who have, the technology secretary has said.Peter Kyle called on employees and businesses to “act now” on getting to grips with the tech, with the generational gap in usage needing only two and a half hours of training to bridge.Breakthroughs such as the emergence of ChatGPT have sparked an investment boom in the technology, but also led to forecasts that a host of jobs in sectors ranging from law to financial services will be affected.However, Kyle said: “I think most people are approaching this with trepidation.Once they start [using AI], it turns to exhilaration, because it is a lot more straightforward than people realise, and it is far more rewarding than people expect.
”Kyle spoke after meeting tech company bosses to discuss a new government-industry drive to train 7,5 million UK workers – a fifth of the overall workforce – in AI by 2030, with the help of firms such as Google, Amazon and BT,He said: “There’s no one in employment at the moment that is incapable of gaining the skills that will be needed in the economy in the next five years,“That is the optimistic way of saying, act now, and you will thrive into the future,Don’t, and I think that some people will be left behind.
And that’s what worries me the most,”Kyle said there appeared to be a generational gap in AI, with over-55s using AI half as much as over-35s,Closing this gap would take two and a half hours of training, he said,“People don’t need to get trained in quantum physics,” Kyle said,“They need to get trained in the basics of how AI works, how to interact with it, and to explore all of the potential it has for you as an individual in the workplace.
”Keir Starmer acknowledged this week that people were “sceptical” about AI and worry about it taking their job.Speaking at London Tech Week, the prime minister said the government would attempt to prove that technology can “create wealth in your community … create good jobs [and] vastly improve our public services”.People in English-speaking countries including the UK, US, Australia and Canada are more nervous about the rise of AI than those in the largest EU economies, according to polling data shared with the Guardian last week.Forecasts about the impact of AI on jobs vary, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warning the technology could trigger job losses in skilled professions such as law, medicine and finance.The International Monetary Fund has calculated 60% of jobs in advanced economies such as the US and UK are exposed to AI and half of these jobs may be negatively affected.
However, the Tony Blair Institute, which has called for widespread adoption of AI in the public and private sectors, has said potential UK jobs losses in the private sphere will be mitigated by the technology creating new roles.Kyle said he was ready for a reset in the debate over AI and copyright after opposition to the government’s proposed overhaul of copyright law in the House of Lords ended.The data bill, a vehicle for peers’ opposition to proposals to let AI firms use copyright-protected work without permission in order to develop their products, finally passed this week after lords did not submit further copyright-related amendments.“I’m acting with humility and self-reflection about the things I could have done better in that process,” he said.“And I’ve made promises to move forward with a reset and a refocus on what will deliver the rights remuneration and opportunities for creatives in the digital age that they have enjoyed for generations in the analogue age – whilst travelling on that journey with the AI industry alongside.
”
Carer’s allowance: woman who won case against DWP calls for end to ‘sickening harassment’
The mother of a teenager with cerebral palsy has demanded an end to the “sickening harassment” of unpaid carers after a significant legal victory against the government.Nicola Green, 42, was pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for more than a year after she was accused of fraudulently claiming nearly £3,000 in carer’s allowance.When Green insisted she was innocent, the DWP wrote to her employer without her knowledge to try to recoup the sum from her pay.The part-time college worker, whose 17-year-old son has a number of health conditions, appealed against the fine before a tribunal judge, who quashed it in barely 30 minutes last month.Speaking after her legal victory, Green said she had been treated “like a criminal” by the DWP over the £2,823
Ministers plan to use NHS app to expand clinical trials as part of UK-wide drive
The government is aiming for a significant expansion of clinical trials in the UK, and plans to use the NHS app to encourage millions of people in England to take part in the search for new treatments.Patients will eventually be automatically matched with studies based on their health data and interests, via the app. The plans envisage alerting them to the trials using smartphone notifications.NHS trusts that fail to meet targets on trials will also be publicly named, and the best performers will be prioritised for funding, as part of improvements designed to restore Britain’s global reputation for medical research.The strategy is one of the first to emerge from the government’s forthcoming 10-year health plan for England
My father died in a care home and all I got was denials and excuses | Letters
The situation at The Firs care home in Nottinghamshire, which was shut down in April, is dreadful for patients, families and staff (‘How did it get to this?’ What happens when care in a residential home breaks down, 7 June). But the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is not the only body to blame for failings like this.It can’t investigate individual complaints – this is mostly down to the local government and social care ombudsman (LGSCO), but also the parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO). It depends on who funds the care; in theory the same care home could be dealing with two ombudsman staff unaware of each other. Both are equally damned on Trustpilot with overwhelmingly negative reviews
Young carer who unwittingly breached allowance rules forced to repay £2,000
A young carer who had looked after her disabled mother from the age of eight was forced to repay more than £2,000 when she unwittingly breached carer’s allowance benefit earnings rules after joining a government youth employment scheme.Rose Jones, 22, said she was twice wrongly advised by her jobcentre work coach that her wages earned under the Kickstart scheme would not affect her eligibility for carer’s allowance.Less than a year after she completed the six-month scheme, under which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) paid her wages, she received a demand from the DWP demanding she pay back £2,145 of overpaid benefits.“I was shocked when the letter arrived – it came on my 20th birthday – and I really didn’t know what to do. I thought it was a mistake because my work coach had told me it was fine
Senior health figure accuses NHS of racism over care given to dying mother
A senior figure in the health service has criticised it for deep-seated racism after his mother “got a black service, not an NHS service” before she died.Victor Adebowale, the chair of the NHS Confederation, claimed his mother Grace’s lung cancer went undiagnosed because black people get “disproportionately poor” health service care.The NHS’s failure to detect her cancer while she was alive shows that patients experience “two different services”, based on the colour of their skin, Adebowale said.His mother, Grace Amoke Owuren Adebowale, a former NHS nurse, died in January aged 92. He highlighted her care and death during his speech this week at the NHS Confederation’s annual conference as an example of “persistent racial inequalities in NHS services”
People in Australia: tell us your experiences with IVF
After a second embryo implant bungle at Monash IVF, the entire industry is under new scrutiny amid concerns the for-profit model doesn’t always putting families first.Experts worry that clinics might be pushing extra IVF cycles that have little chance of working, and add-on treatments that lack evidence of their efficacy. There are also concerns that people don’t always understand how quickly their chances of a successful pregnancy drop with age.We would like to hear your experiences of IVF. Were you given an accurate idea of your chances of conceiving? Do you feel you were “oversold” extra cycles or non-essential add-ons? How much did you pay and could you afford it? Did Medicare cover part or all of your fee?You can share your experiences with IVF using this form
Fuel tanker rates surge as Middle East crisis worries markets – business live
UK bank TSB could be sold off by Spanish owner Sabadell
Makers of air fryers and smart speakers told to respect users’ right to privacy
Liverpool is crypto capital of UK, survey finds
Thunder move one win from first NBA title in 46 years after holding off Pacers
Johnny Sexton insists he is ‘here to help’ Finn Russell despite past Lions criticism