Artificial Intelligence is predicted by some to change the way we work and triggers large-scale restructuring of the UK labour market. We will need new skills, abilities and ways of learning to be more adaptable. How can we respond to this change -- and are there lessons from the past to learn from? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is framed as a driving factor of the fourth industrial revolution that is said to fundamentally transform the UK labour market. Jobs are increasingly affected by emerging technologies like AI that can automate work processes and consequently have the power to both replace and create jobs.

In order to mitigate the displacement effect on this large portion of the workforce, as well as to help members of the UK's labour pool who have already found themselves out of work, PwC issued a number of recommendations to accompany its report. Most importantly, the firm suggests that the UK Government should invest more in'STEAM' skills that will be most useful to people in this increasingly automated world. While this does mean pushing for schools to focus more on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), it also means Britain should explore how art and design – the'A' in'STEAM' – can feature at the heart of innovation. It is not solely about educating new labour, though, and PwC also states that governments have a responsibility to encourage workers to continually update and adapt their skills so as to complement what new machines and AI can do. Meanwhile, the UK Government should strengthen the state's safety net for those who find it hard to adjust to technological changes.