Charlotte Lynch invited Tarek onto LBC News to respond to Sadiq Khan's recent speech at Mansion House.
Valliance co-founder Tarek Nseir appeared live on LBC News to respond to Sadiq Khan's Mansion House speech, in which the Mayor of London warned that AI could become a "weapon of mass destruction of jobs". Tarek's answer was direct. The bigger risk to UK jobs is a stalling economy, and AI is one of the clearest routes to growing out of it.
"Framing AI as a looming engine of mass unemployment is both fearmongering and in many ways counterproductive."
What did Tarek say about AI and job losses?
Tarek argued that there is currently no clear evidence linking AI adoption to job losses in the UK. In his view, some organisations are citing AI to explain hiring decisions that are really driven by weak growth, and that narrative is feeding unnecessary fear in the market.
"AI represents one of the greatest opportunities for us to grow out of the situation we're in. It's a catalyst for growth."
He acknowledged that AI will directly change many roles, and that government and employers share a responsibility to support people affected, with the right training and practices in place.
Where should leaders focus instead?
Adoption, in Tarek's view. He told LBC that UK businesses are investing in AI but too often in pilots that never make it into live use, whilst businesses elsewhere are already generating substantial value from AI without the predicted job losses. The priority for London's leaders should be helping businesses deploy AI successfully, rather than warning them off it.
"We do have fantastic technology talent here. And we do have ambitious businesses. We just need to start providing the right advice and focus on the right endeavours."
