Mayor announces new London AI and Jobs Taskforce – with IFOW Founder and Co-Director Anna Thomas MBE as Deputy Chair.

IFOW strongly welcomes Mayor Sadiq Khan's announcement today of a new London AI and Jobs Taskforce. We're really pleased that our Founding Co-Director Anna Thomas MBE will act as Deputy Chair to the Taskforce, with pioneering tech entrepeneur Baroness Martha Lane-Fox as Chair.

The Mayor made the announcement at the Bloomberg CityLab Summit in Madrid. CityLab is a high-profile annual meeting of mayors and global city leaders discussing how best to confront urgent shared challenges and the role of cities in shaping a brighter future.

Anna Thomas MBE said: "I'm delighted to join the Mayor's London AI and Jobs Taskforce at such a pivotal moment. This is the most important economic and social challenge of our era, and London has a unique opportunity to lead the world in AI for Good, by improving working lives and productivity at the same time - for everyone."  

AI is already changing work across the world, including right here in the capital, and outcomes must be mediated to ensure London is at the forefront of harnessing the opportunities of AI, as well as mitigating the potential uneven impacts. This new AI and Jobs Taskforce will examine how work is currently changing on the ground in the city, will closely monitor the most significant risks and opportunities, and will review any necessary immediate interventions.

From the Pissarides Review, we know that new technologies at work have significant but highly divergent impacts on workers' quality of life and wellbeing. A new report published today by the Greater London Authority draws on and supports this research, showing that for a city like London - a global hub for finance, the creative industries, professional services, and technology - the potential implications of AI and other new technologies are both profound and highly varied across occupations and industries.  

Bringing together expertise from Government, from business and AI industry communities, and from civil society and trade unions, the new AI and Jobs Taskforce will consider the effects and implications of AI on the tasks, productivity, inclusion, and job quality of work in London, and will advise on the practical actions needed to strengthen skills, strengthen pathways into work, and support growth ecosystems.