More than half of UK adults are worried that artificial intelligence (AI) could take their job or change it beyond recognition, according to a new survey.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC), which commissioned the poll, said the findings should be a wake-up call for ministers to prepare for rapid technological change.
The survey found that 51 per cent of working adults were anxious about AI’s impact on their employment. Concern was particularly high among younger workers, with 62 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds voicing fears.
Worry was also seen across the political divide, with roughly half of Labour, Conservative and Reform voters all reporting worry.
It follows a number of large employers, including BT, Amazon and Microsoft, warning that advances in AI in recent months could lead to job cuts.
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.
“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.”
The union body has called for assurances that workers will not be left behind by advances in AI, including by requiring companies to invest in workforce skills and training.
Experts say AI’s impact is likely to be uneven across sectors. Routine administrative roles and some digital services are considered more vulnerable, while growth is expected in tech, engineering and specialist professions.
The TUC warned that unless action is taken, Britain risks “sleepwalking” into a labour market reshaped by technology but lacking the protections workers need.
Projections last year from the Tony Blair Institute estimated AI could displace millions of jobs in the private sector, but added that this figure will be offset by growth in the tech industry and the roles that it creates.
Between one million and three million private sector jobs could go over the coming decades, although the ultimate rise in unemployment will be in the low hundreds of thousands.
At the peak of disruption, between 60,000 and 275,000 jobs would be displaced each year, according to the institute’s analysis. But it described the figure as “relatively modest” compared with the 450,000 average job losses recorded annually in the UK over the past decade. More than 34 million people are employed in the UK.
Sir Keir Starmer announced a 50-point plan for AI in Britain at the beginning of the year, saying at the time: “I believe that we must fully embrace our role as insurgents in this revolution if our economy is to grow and our people are to prosper.”
The prime minister added: “Advances in AI will define the decade to come. This will bring extraordinary opportunities. But those opportunities will only be available to the countries and companies who can work out how to make AI work for them.
“Our choice, then, is not whether the AI revolution happens. That is out of our hands. We must decide whether we want to get ahead and shape that revolution, or sit back passively and wait for it to shape us.”
