In her recent FT Op-ed, Kathryn Parsons, keynote speaker and founder of pioneering digital skills consultancy Decoded, argues that business leaders need to be included in AI policymaking.
Writing ahead of the UK’s AI Safety Summit, hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 1-2 November 2023, Kathryn expresses disappointment that labour issues are missing from the agenda and that few non-tech industry leaders have been invited to attend.
With a recent Microsoft working paper claiming that “49% of workers could have half or more of their tasks exposed to large language models”, the mass replacement of humans by AI “surely counts as a security and societal risk”, she says. It is critical, therefore, that businesses work with, and are supported by, policymakers to prepare their workforce for the future.
In her work with Decoded, Kathryn is already seeing how businesses are investing multi-million pound budgets to re-skill their workforces so they can move into roles that work with AI. This allows them to take advantage of the potentially huge productivity benefits that AI has to offer, while also treating their employees in an empathetic way.
As such, giving businesses a say in AI policy-making, whether they be one of the FTSE 100 or one of the UK’s many small/medium-sized enterprises, would give them “a competitive advantage to forge partnerships and relationships that could accelerate the British economy for years to come.”
Kathryn Parsons is an entrepreneur and leading commentator on how technology is re-shaping the global business landscape. She is passionate about how education can help the workforce take advantage of the benefits technology has to offer.
A charismatic and sought-after keynote speaker, Kathryn Parsons has presented at conferences around the world, from Seoul to Berlin and UAE to California.
Contact us to find out more about her speaking topics, availability, and to book her for your event.