Britain could introduce a universal basic income (UBI) to protect workers in industries being disrupted by AI, Investment Minister Jason Stockwood has said.
Lord Stockwood said that the “rugged” changes to society caused by the introduction of technology would mean that “some kind of concessionary arrangement with jobs going away immediately” would have to be made.
A Labor peer told the Financial Times: “Of course we have to think really carefully about how we soft-land those industries that go away, so that there is also some sort of (universal basic income), some sort of lifelong arrangement so that people can retrain.”
Universal basic income is not part of official government policy, but when asked whether people in government were considering the need for a UBI, Stockwood told the FT: “People are definitely talking about it.”
The technology entrepreneur, who took up his ministerial post in September, said part of his motivation for joining the government was to help ensure the workforce was prepared for rapid change.
There are growing fears about the impact of artificial intelligence on the UK job market. Research from investment bank Morgan Stanley this week found that Britain is losing more jobs due to AI than it is creating and being affected more than other major economies.
This month London Mayor Sadiq Khan said AI could destroy vast numbers of jobs in the capital and “usher in a new era of mass unemployment”.
Last week, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of US bank JPMorgan, told the World Economic Forum in Davos that governments and businesses must step up to help workers whose roles have been displaced by technology, or risk civil unrest.
Stockwood, who held senior positions at Lastminute.com, Travelocity and Match.com, oversaw the $490m (£400m at the time) sale of online insurance broker Simply Business to US insurer Travelers in 2017. He later bought a stake in the football club of his home town, Grimsby Town FC.
While he has previously been a vocal supporter of a wealth tax in the UK, Stockwood told the FT that he has not reiterated his call for the government to move ahead with taxing the rich.
However, he added: “If you earn your money and the first thing you do is talk to a tax adviser to ask: ‘Where can we pay the least tax?’ “I suggest we don’t want those people in this country, because you are not committed to the long-term success of your communities and this country.”
Stockwood was preceded by investment minister Poppy Gustafsson, the former chief executive of cybersecurity firm Darktrace, who stepped down after less than a year in the job.
