Sadiq Khan warns AI could become ‘weapon of mass destruction of jobs’

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has issued a stark warning that artificial intelligence could become "a weapon of mass destruction of jobs" if its rapid development remains unchecked.

Speaking at Mansion House on Thursday evening, the Labour politician highlighted the significant threat the burgeoning technology poses to the capital's workforce.

This comes amid widespread concern over the creation of sexualised deepfake images of women and children using Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot.

Sir Sadiq emphasised the urgent need for action to "seize the potential of AI and use it as a superpower for positive transformation and creation" while simultaneously preventing "a new era of mass unemployment."

He added that London finds itself at "the sharpest edge of change" due to the "colossal" impact AI is expected to have on its key sectors, including finance, professional services, and the creative industries.

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He said: “We can hear the low rumbling of a new technological revolution but we don’t yet know what course it will take.

“Used responsibly, AI could enable us to transform our public services, turbocharge productivity and tackle some of our most complex challenges – from cancer care to the climate crisis.

“But used recklessly, it could usher in a new era of mass unemployment, accelerated inequality and an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power…

“We mustn’t drift, absentmindedly, into a future we didn’t ask for and don’t want.

“We need to wake up and make a choice: seize the potential of AI and use it as a superpower for positive transformation and creation, or surrender it and sit back and watch as it becomes a weapon of mass destruction of jobs.”

Polling carried out by City Hall in November showed 56 per cent of London workers expected AI to affect their job over the next year.

The mayor announced a taskforce comprising experts from government, business, the skills sector and the AI industry to conduct a review of the technology’s impact on jobs to help assess how to develop Londoners’ skills for the future so they remain competitive in the global jobs market.

Findings from the group, whose members are yet to be announced, are expected in the summer.

He will also commission free AI training for all Londoners.

Sir Sadiq said “we have a moral, social and economic duty to act” quickly, as research suggests 70 per cent of skills in the average job will have changed by 2030.

He also urged political leaders to protect people against the dangers of new technology and “not make the same mistakes” as with social media, which, “without sufficient guardrails”, has “saddled us with a youth mental health crisis and a surge in online abuse”.

He pointed to reports of Grok users manipulating images of women and children in order to sexualise them.

X on Wednesday announced it would prevent Grok “editing images of people in revealing clothes” and block users from generating similar images of real people in countries where it is illegal.

Ofcom has welcomed the new restrictions but said its investigation – launched on Monday – will continue as it seeks “answers into what went wrong and what’s being done to fix it”.

Downing Street pointed to the Government’s AI skills training offering when asked whether Sir Keir Starmer agreed with Sir Sadiq’s assessment.

A No 10 spokesman said: “Like all technologies throughout history, AI is going to reshape the world of work.

“Some jobs will be impacted, more impacted than others, but the new roles and opportunities it will create is something we should all embrace. And that’s why we’re training 7.5 million workers, a fifth of the UK’s entire workforce, with the essential AI skills they need over the coming years.

“In April, we’ll be launching new short courses for businesses in areas like AI and digital skills to give people the tools they need for the jobs of the future.

“That is how we are building a workforce which can help shape the curve of progress rather than simply being passers by.”