The effect the rapidly developing technology has on contemporary jobs in the UK labour market is just one of the key areas delved into in the new Generative AI and the UK labour market report, while topics such as its subsequent social, economic, and productivity-related implications are also covered.

When it comes to the occupational impact of generative AI, writers, authors, and translators are at the top of the list, with a share of 43% of their tasks susceptible to automation. KPMG pointed to how text-based generative AI could be used to accelerate important aspects of writing-oriented roles, such as the drafting process.

Following writers are programmers and software developers — similarly writing- and creation-focused roles, though more technical in nature — with as much as 26% of the tasks performed by them being at risk of automation.

Earlier this month, DIGIT reported on a GitHub study that found 92% of devs are already using AI coding tools — like GitHub’s Copilot — to heighten code quality and more quickly, with 67% saying they use them both at work and out of it.

The third-most potentially impacted roles are public relations professionals and communications directors, with a share of 25% of tasks being open to automation. Next, however, is another tech-oriented role: IT user support technicians, with a share of 23%.

In spite of these findings, Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, said: “While we do not anticipate many job losses as a result, changes to work practices of some occupations could still lead to short-term skill mismatches, as the labour market adjusts to the new technology. Additional support will be needed to facilitate the transition of affected workers to new occupations.”

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The report also suggests that while certain professions could, as we’ve seen, be more impacted, a large swathe of occupations will likely see little to no impact from AI technologies. Out of the 412 occupational categories — including construction, manufacturing, retail, and hospitality — considered by KPMG, around 60% is set to see almost no impact. However, this could change in time.

As Selfin said, “It is important to note that the impact of Generative AI, while significant for some occupations, does not appear yet to have the potential to encompass many others, which limits the overall impact on the economy.

“However, the technology may facilitate faster progress in areas such as programming and R&D, which in turn could generate a significant boost to productivity, beyond the impact on the immediate tasks affected by this technology.”

In conclusion, KPMG doesn’t anticipate that AI will lead to falls in overall employment in the long-term; around half of the displacement impact of generative AI is expected to be offset by the creation of new tasks within the affected jobs.

This offsetting could also lead to an AI-facilitated productivity boost of around 1.2%, generating a potential £31bn of GDP to the UK economy within the next ten years.

To read the Generative AI and the UK labour market report in full, click here.