Rishi Sunak: AI is flattening jobs market for young people, governments must adapt

Artificial intelligence (AI) is flattening the jobs market for young people, and governments should consider eliminating National Insurance to make hiring workers more attractive, former prime minister Rishi Sunak has told the BBC.

Sunak, who is now an adviser to AI firm Anthropic and Microsoft, said while he is an enthusiast for the transformative impact of AI, concerns from graduates looking for entry-level jobs are justified.

He said company bosses were privately acknowledging to him that the recruitment of young people is flattening because of the technology.

"There are reasons to be worried and think about the future. But we are able to do something about this," he said.

Sunak suggested rebalancing the tax system by abolishing National Insurance "over time" and replacing it with taxes on corporate profits. These, he said, would be boosted by productivity and efficiencies in deploying AI.

Sunak said it is becoming tougher for young people to get jobs in service sectors such as law, accountancy, and the creative industries.

Meanwhile, he said chief executives are telling him that "flat is the new up".

"They're talking about this concept that they think they can continue to grow their businesses without having to significantly increase employment because they're starting to see how they can deploy AI," said Sunak.

"That's why I think we do have to look at this issue very seriously and with purpose."

The former chancellor told BBC Newsnight: "We should be thinking about, well, how do we tip the balance in favour of AI being used in that positive way… to help people do their jobs better [rather than replacing them]."

Sunak said that many countries will have to examine how to rebalance their systems as they face raising less revenue from employment taxes and have to find that money elsewhere.

He said the impact on employment by AI "may be different to previous technology cycles, and we want to do what we can to tip the scales in a more positive direction".

Sunak was appointed as an advisor to both Anthropic and tech giant Microsoft last year.

During his time as prime minister, he made tech regulation a significant priority, setting up an AI safety summit in 2023.

Earlier this month, Anthropic announced its new AI model, called Claude Mythos. The company said it found that the tool can outperform humans at some hacking and cyber-security tasks, prompting discussions by regulators, legislators, and financial institutions about the dangers it could pose to digital services.

Sunak, who is also a senior adviser at investment bank Goldman Sachs, said concerns about the development of Mythos showed "we shouldn't rely on companies to mark their own homework".

He said it was to Anthropic's credit and to the UK's benefit that Britain's AI Security Institute, established under his premiership, had become the first to test Mythos' capabilities.

The Conservative MP also revealed that he had joined forces with Labour's deputy prime minister David Lammy to promote investment in the UK tech sector at a recent AI summit.

Sunak said he was a "big believer" in "Londonmaxxing" and "Britmaxxing", which is how some in the tech industry are describing a wave of recent multi-billion pound investments in the sector.

"I know people like to talk us down...or say that things aren't working but in this area there are huge reasons for us to feel confident and proud," he said. "We are an AI superpower any which way you look at it."