Despite these high-profile changes and mounting anecdotal evidence, most economists reckon that, so far, Britain’s slowing labour market has little to do with accelerating investment in AI. In January a survey by Boston Consulting Group suggested half of UK companies were planning to redirect investment from staff to AI as a result of rising employment costs. UK university graduates are facing the toughest jobs market since 2018, while the number of entry-level job vacancies has plummeted by a third since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. Ministers have trumpeted £44bn of AI investment in Britain since last year, saying it has created 13,250 jobs in 12 months. “When you look at any technology, it creates jobs – not just destroys them,” says Yael Selfin, the chief economist at KPMG in the UK.