The real reasons why AI isn’t coming for your job, according to experts

Over the last year, chances are that at least once you’ve found yourself asking: “Could AI take my job?”

Modern workplaces are increasingly making use of artificial intelligence tools that promise to rid workers of the day-to-day drudgery of parts of their job. The technology has been hailed as a gamechanger with the “potential to transform the lives of working people” by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, whose government has pledged millions to support the founding of “AI growth zones” across the country.

But AI isn’t coming to take your job tomorrow, according to experts at Microsoft and Imperial College London. In an article published in the journal Occupational Medicine, they warned that while AI technology can bring benefits to workplaces, it could actually make the roles left to humans more complex.

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in workplaces, the technology will “simultaneously create its own new health issues and challenges”, according to lead researcher Dr Lara Shemtob.

“Research shows that the labour market is changing, and some jobs and industries are more impacted by AI than others,” she said. “It’s important that workplaces are cognizant of that.”

So instead of being concerned about AI taking jobs, she said workplaces need to be aware of how implementing new technology is affecting employees.

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For example, Dr Shemtob said some employees may see their role shift towards interacting with technology, where they used to speak to co-workers.

“Relationships might change if you start liaising more with tech than with a human colleague,” she explained. “This is the sort of problem we are encouraging employers to be mindful of.”

She added that some people may not have been expected to be supervisors when they took on their role, but could find themselves starting to take on managerial tasks over AI agents.

Equally, she said AI “hallucination” could mean people need to check work more thoroughly, placing more burden on workers.

Both these issues are things she said could become a “hidden workload” that could “negate the benefits” of using technology.

“As AI absorbs routine tasks, human roles may shift toward stewardship, problem-solving, or emotional labour, all with their own psychological demands,” Dr Shemtob said.

The team also warned that as the sophistication of AI accelerates, and the tasks it can be given – or taken away from human co-workers – increases, we will see growing “role ambiguity” within workplaces.

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She said this can potentially raise mental health issues such as uncertainty, stress and anxiety.

“We know that risk factors for work-related stress involve things like role ambiguity, and change can also be a stressor,” she said.

Dr Shemtob was keen to highlight the benefits that AI technologies can bring to the workplace.

She said government plans to make AI “work for working people” through greater investment in and adoption of the technology in British industry could have “lots of upsides”. The AI Opportunities Action Plan has seen the government join with leading tech firms and investors to pledge the creation of AI growth zones and “ensure British businesses and researchers stay at the forefront of AI”.

She believes the new technology could help the 2.5-3 million people in the UK who are currently “economically inactive” due to ill health by lowering barriers to employment.

“People with certain types of neurodiversity can really benefit from things AI can do in the workplace,” she explained. “AI tools like transcription, summarisation, and scheduling support can reduce barriers for neurodivergent workers.”

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The introduction of AI technology could also have mental health benefits for workers, despite its challenges in the area, Dr Shemtob added.

For example, the experts behind the article believe it can be used to control “hazards” by reducing human involvement and completing tasks that are dangerous or psychologically harmful for humans, such as online content moderation - although they conceded there are “issues with appropriate decision making”.

She also said new technologies are helping occupational health professionals expand their reach and access more people in need.

But in order to feel the full effects of benefits, she said, workplaces need to use AI “consciously”.

“I think the pace of change is so fast it’s hard to stay on top of it and think these things through,” she added. “We are encouraging people to think consciously about how you are using AI - we’ve all got to be much more active in our awareness of how we are using it.”