The UK could introduce a universal basic income to protect workers in industries that are being disrupted by AI, the investment minister Jason Stockwood has said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBumpy\u201d changes to society caused by the introduction of the technology would mean there would have to be \u201csome sort of concessionary arrangement with jobs that go immediately\u201d, Lord Stockwood said.<\/p>\n
The Labour peer told the Financial Times: \u201cUndoubtedly we\u2019re going to have to think really carefully about how we soft-land those industries that go away, so some sort of [universal basic income], some sort of lifelong mechanism as well so people can retrain.\u201d<\/p>\n
A universal basic income is not part of official government policy, but when asked whether people in government were considering the need for UBI, Stockwood told the FT: \u201cPeople are definitely talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technology entrepreneur, who took up his ministerial post in September, said part of his motivation for joining the government was to help ensure the workforce was prepared for rapid change.<\/p>\n
His remarks comes as fears continue to grow about the impact of artificial intelligence on Britain\u2019s job market. This week research by the investment bank Morgan Stanley found the UK was losing more jobs than it is creating because of AI<\/a> and was being hit harder than other large economies.<\/p>\n This month the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, warned AI could destroy swathes of jobs in the capital and \u201cusher in a new era of mass unemployment<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Last week, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of the US bank JP Morgan, told the World Economic Forum in Davos that governments and businesses would have to step in to help workers<\/a> whose roles were displaced by the technology, or risk civil unrest.<\/p>\n Stockwood, who held senior positions at Lastminute.com, Travelocity and Match.com, oversaw the $490m (\u00a3400m at the time) sale of the online insurance broker Simply Business to the US insurer Travelers in 2017. He later bought a stake his hometown\u2019s football club Grimsby Town FC.<\/a><\/p>\n While he has previously been a vocal proponent of a wealth tax in the UK, Stockwood told the FT he had not repeated his calls for the government to go further on taxing the rich.<\/p>\n However, he added: \u201cIf you make your money and the first thing you do is you speak to a tax adviser to ask: \u2018Where can we pay the lowest tax?\u2019 we don\u2019t want those people in this country, I\u2019d suggest, because you\u2019re not committed to your communities and the long-term success in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n