Artificial intelligence to hit workplace ‘like a freight train’, energy boss warns

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

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The government must act to prepare for artificial intelligence (AI) to hit the workplace “like a freight train”, the boss of one of Britain’s leading energy companies has told Sky News.

Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus, says the adoption of AI across industry will ultimately improve the workplace and spawn new roles, but the startling pace of development means millions of jobs could be at risk in the short-term.

Octopus has seen huge benefits from the adoption of generative artificial intelligence in its customer service operations, with 44% of customer emails being answered, at least in part, by AI just seven weeks after it was rolled out.

Human employees still manage and check all the AI’s output, and Mr Jackson said it would not cost any jobs at Octopus.

He warned however, that the technology posed a threat to jobs at companies looking to cut costs, and business, regulators and politicians need to prepare for a rapid transition.

“Around the world, governments are quite quickly beginning to think about what they have to do but we haven’t got time to wait and see,” he said. “If a freight train is coming at you don’t wait to feel it hit before moving out the way.

“In growing companies, ones that are expanding and innovating in new areas, AI lets us do that faster, better for customers, and in our case hopefully better for the planet.

“But I think in companies that are not growing and don’t have the same opportunity to expand into new areas it could be a cost-cutting exercise in which case the threat to jobs is very real.”

“Right now we can see some of these impacts and I think responsible companies should be opening up this discussion so we can help governments think about how to handle it. And I think the first thing we need to think about is this economic dislocation and the risk to jobs.”

Mr Jackson’s warning comes as BT announced it will replace around 10,000 workers with advanced AI in the next seven years, making it the largest British company to make a direct link between the new technology and job losses.

The debate around AI has gained urgency in recent months with the emergence of new generative AI models such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, which can produce sophisticated written content and imagery based on a few text prompts.

The advances have surprised even developers, raising the prospect of a genuine industrial revolution in white-collar work, with the promise of productivity gains accompanied by fears of huge job losses.

While it’s not clear where the balance between promise and pain will eventually fall, companies are accelerating their use of the technology.

Workplace adoption

Allen & Overy, one the “magic circle” of major London-based law firms, began trialling a bespoke AI tool called Harvey last November which is now being used by 3,500 lawyers in 43 jurisdictions across the business.

Lawyers use it to generate a draft document or examine an area of law, which is then checked and finessed before being used, delivering productivity gains worth one or two hours a week, per person.

“It’s saving thousands of hours across a large organisation,” said David Wakeling, who has led the project for Allen & Overy.

“It’s a boring productivity gain, really, it’s an hour or two a week, but when you multiply that by three and a half thousand, that is a big deal for a business. It was impossible to find these productivity gains through a single deployment of a system.”

He said the technology was constantly surprising employees with its ability, but does not pose a threat to human workers.

“We see it as augmenting our lawyers, not replacing them… it is a brilliant productivity gain for some efficiency savings but the technology I’m seeing today, I’m aware that people talk about this [job losses] all the time, but we are using cutting edge technology and we are not seeing that impact today.

“We underestimate its capabilities all the time. Someone will send an email saying, I just got the most amazing answer or I just found this use-case, it still happens a lot.

“It’s still limited, it still has the risk of errors, we still have to concentrate on making sure it’s safely deployed and people understand that you need the expert in the loop. But fundamentally, it’s an amazing machine and it produces surprises all the time.”

Concern for workers’ rights

While employers search for opportunities in AI, unions are concerned at its potential to erode workers’ rights and are calling for tighter regulation.

The government wants the UK to be a world leader in AI, and in a recent white paper said it would not legislate to deal with AI, preferring to allow existing regulators to work with companies on appropriate rules.

The TUC says workers are already under-represented in the rollout of new technology and is calling for legislation to protect humans from hiring and firing by algorithm.

“Our research has found that unfortunately, there’s a very low level of consultation at work about the introduction of new technologies, and indeed, sometimes technologies are operating and making decisions about people who don’t even know that that’s happening,” said Mary Towers, the TUC’s lead on AI.

“We say that at the very moment at which regulation is most needed, when the technologies are developing so rapidly and the implications are so significant, instead of regulating, the government is putting forward flimsy and vague proposals that don’t have any statutory footing.

“There’s potential for everyone to benefit from the innovation and from the development of AI-powered technology, but the critical issue is, are lots of different voices represented at the development stage of the technology?”

Business

Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

Published

4 hours ago

September 22, 2025

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Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.

The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs.

“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

Mr Trump said that Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of software firm Oracle, was part of the same group. His involvement in the potential TikTok deal had previously been revealed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday that Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security, with Americans set to control six of the seven seats for a planned TikTok board.

This comes after Mr Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping held a “very productive call” on Friday, discussing the final approval for the TikTok deal, much of which is still unknown.

Once confirmed, the deal should stop TikTok from being banned in the US after lawmakers decided it posed a security risk to citizens’ data.

Officials warned that the algorithm TikTok uses is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push specific content on the social media platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

Congress had ordered the app shut down for American users by January 2025 if its Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t sell its assets in the country – but the ban has been delayed four times by President Trump.

Mr Trump said on Sunday that he might be “a little prejudiced” about TikTok, after telling reporters on Friday: “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok and then I got to use it and then I became a fan and it helped me win an election in a landslide.”

After the call with Mr Xi, Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post: “We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

Mr Trump later told reporters at the White House that Xi had approved the deal, but said it still needed to be signed.

Representatives for the Murdochs, Mr Dell and Mr Ellison have not yet commented on a potential TikTok deal.

Business

Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Published

4 hours ago

September 22, 2025

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Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Gatwick’s second runway has been given the go-ahead by the government.

The northern runway already exists parallel to Gatwick‘s main one, but cannot be used at the same time, as it is too close.

It is currently limited to being a taxiway and is only used for take-offs and landings if the main one has to shut.

The £2.2bn expansion project will see it move 12 metres north so both can operate simultaneously, facilitating 100,000 extra flights a year, 14,000 jobs, and £1bn a year for the economy.

It would also mean the airport could process 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s.

Gatwick is already the second busiest airport in the UK, and the busiest single runway airport in Europe.

No public money is being used for the expansion plan, which airport bosses say could see the new runway operational by 2029.

The expansion was initially rejected by the Planning Inspectorate over concerns about its provisions for noise prevention and public transport connections.

Campaigners also argued the additional air traffic will be catastrophic for the environment and the local community.

A revised plan was published by the planning authority earlier this year, which it said could be approved by the government if all conditions were met.

The government says it is now satisfied this is the case, with additions made including Gatwick being able to set its own target for passengers who travel to the airport by public transport – instead of a statutory one.

Nearby residents affected by noise will also be able to charge the airport for the cost of triple-glazed windows.

And people who live directly under the flight path who choose to sell their homes could have their stamp duty and estate agent fees paid for up to 1% of the purchase price.

CAGNE, an aviation and environmental group in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, says it still has concerns about noise, housing provision, and wastewaster treatment.

The group says it will lodge a judicial review, which will be funded by local residents and environmental organisations.

‘Disaster for the climate crisis’

Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised the second runway decision, posting on X: “Aviation expansion is a disaster for the climate crisis.

“Anyone who’s been paying any attention to this shambles of a Labour Govenrment (sic) knows they don’t care about people in poverty, don’t care about nature nor for the planet. Just big business & their own interests.”

Friends of the Earth claimed the economic case for the airport expansion has been “massively overstated”.

Head of campaigns Rosie Downes warned: “If we’re to meet our legally-binding climate targets, today’s decision also makes it much harder for the government to approve expansion at Heathrow.”

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden welcomed the decision but said it “should have been made months ago”, claiming Labour have “dithered and delayed at every turn”.

“Now that Gatwick’s second runway has been approved, it’s crucial Labour ensures this infrastructure helps drive the economic growth our country needs,” he said.

A government source told Sky News the second runway is a “no-brainer for growth”.

“The transport secretary has cleared Gatwick expansion for take-off,” they said. “It is possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election.

“Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”

Business

TalkTalk Group picks bankers to spearhead break-up

Published

2 days ago

September 20, 2025

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TalkTalk Group picks bankers to spearhead break-up

TalkTalk Group has picked advisers to spearhead a break-up that will lead to the sale of one of Britain’s biggest broadband providers.

Sky News has learnt that PJT Partners, the investment bank, is being lined up to handle a strategic review aimed at assessing the optimal timing for a disposal of TalkTalk’s remaining businesses.

PJT’s appointment is expected to be finalised shortly, City sources said this weekend.

Founded by Sir Charles Dunstone, the entrepreneur who also helped establish The Carphone Warehouse, TalkTalk has 3.2 million residential broadband customers across the UK.

That scale makes it one of the largest broadband suppliers in the country, and means that Ofcom, the telecoms industry regulator, will maintain a close eye on the company’s plans.

The break-up is expected to take some time to complete, and will involve the separate sales of TalkTalk’s consumer operations, and PlatformX, its wholesale and network division.

Within the latter unit, TalkTalk’s ethernet subsidiary could also be sold on a standalone basis, according to insiders.

TalkTalk, which has been grappling with a heavily indebted balance sheet for some time, secured a significant boost during the summer when it agreed a £120m capital injection.

The bulk of those funds came from Ares Management, an existing lender to and shareholder in the company.

That new funding followed a £1.2bn refinancing completed late last year, but which failed to prevent bondholders pushing for further moves to strengthen its balance sheet.

Over the last year, TalkTalk has slashed hundreds of jobs in an attempt to exert a tighter grip on costs.

It also raised £50m from two disposals in March and June, comprising the sale of non-core customers to Utility Warehouse.

In addition, there was also an in-principle agreement to defer cash interest payments and to capitalise those worth approximately £60m.

The company’s business arm is separately owned by TalkTalk’s shareholders, following a deal struck in 2023.

TalkTalk was taken private from the London Stock Exchange in a £1.1bn deal led by sister companies Toscafund and Penta Capital.

Sir Charles, the group’s executive chairman, is also a shareholder.

The company is now run by chief executive James Smith.

The identity of suitors for TalkTalk’s remaining operations was unclear this weekend, although a number of other telecoms companies are expected to look at the consumer business.

Britain’s altnet sector, which comprises dozens of broadband infrastructure groups, has been struggling financially because of soaring costs and low customer take-up.

On Saturday, a TalkTalk spokesman declined to comment.