As we mark International Labour Day, it is fitting to focus our May newsletter on two key dimensions of our mission to transform working lives for good.

AI and Jobs Taskforce

Firstly, this week, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the creation of a new London AI and Jobs Taskforce, with IFOW Founding Director Anna Thomas to act as Deputy Chair.

Addressing a high-profile meeting of global mayors and city leaders in Madrid, the Mayor set out an exciting vision for London to lead at city-level in fully recognising and tackling the risks and opportunities that AI brings to work.

The new Taskforce - chaired by technology entrepreneur and champion of ethical and responsible AI, Baroness Martha Lane-Fox - will firstly deliver sharp insight into how AI is already changing work for Londoners on the ground, before rapidly turning this insight into direct, practical advice.

Making the Future Work – 18^th May

Secondly, we are very excited to offer some more detail on our conference, which is just around the corner. We have over 300 attendees registered already, and that number is going up very quickly towards capacity, so please do sign up now to join us for what promises to be a fantastic day.

We’re convening senior stakeholders across industry, research, policy, and technology to discuss one of the most urgent questions of our time: how can the immense power of AI be coupled with human capability to turn the future towards good?

Already confirmed are:

·      Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England

·      Mary Jones, Director of UK AI Resilience in the Cabinet Office

·      Katie Field, Global Head of Health,Safety and Wellbeing at the British Standards Institute

·      Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Chair of Stemettes, and Co-lead on the Women in Tech Taskforce

·      Bart van Ark, Director of TheProductivity Institute

·      Dr Erin Young, Head of Innovation andTechnology Policy at the Institute of Directors

·      Sana Khareghani, Chief StrategyOfficer at Era4, and former Head of the Government Office for AI

·      Kate Bell, Joint General Secretary of theTUC

·      Graeme Burns, AI People and CommsStrategy lead, Nationwide

·      Jonathan Reekie CBE, Director of SomersetHouse Trust

·      Baroness Beeban Kidron, lead on AI regulation and former film director

·      Clare McNeil, CEO of Timewise, and formerDirector at IPPR

Sign-up here.

The event is shaped around four interlinked challenges, and for our curated reads this month we’ve chosen some highlights from our recent work to help build the foundations for the day.

The Adoption Challenge: We know that the best results from AI come from it augmenting, not replacing, work. So, how practically can we centre people and society in the design, development, and deployment of these incredible new technologies?  

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