AI and the Future of Work John McDermid
Event details
Discussions about the introduction of AI in the workplace can divide opinion. Should we see this future trajectory as releasing workers from repetitive tasks and increasing efficiency and productivity? Or is there a risk of jobs being lost and a decrease in empathy and human interaction? What control would there be over the algorithms being used by AI?
There is certainly a role for AI for unsafe tasks that people should not, or cannot, do, but ‘low-value’ tasks are an important part of the learning curve for many employees. Our work is also an important way we define ourselves in society. Will AI open up new opportunities or threaten traditional patterns of work?
Following the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris, join our panel of expert speakers from France and the UK as they discuss whether we should fear or embrace AI in the workplace.
This event is part of the Festival Focus ‘Securing Our Future’ presented in collaboration with the French Embassy in the UK. You may also be interested in 'Protecting Our Blue Planet' taking place on Wednesday 11 June.
About the speakers
Professor John McDermid OBE is the Director of the Centre for Assuring Autonomy at the University of York. John has worked on safety of complex, computer and software-controlled systems for almost 40 years, leading major research initiatives and acting as advisor to industry and government on several continents. He first started work on safety of AI-controlled systems in the early 2000s (neural networks for engine control for Rolls-Royce, adaptive flight control for NASA). Since January 2018 he has led a major initiative supported by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, addressing the safety and assurance of AI and autonomous systems across a wide range of domains (e.g. health, autonomous vehicles, maritime, mining/quarrying) and with global reach. His recent activities around AI safety include advising the UK Department of Transport and Law Commission on safety and ethics for the introduction of self-driving vehicles to the UK; advising on strategy for AI and Data Science for the UK’s National Physical Laboratory; advising the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on their strategy for assuring and regulating AI; presenting at two fringe events for the first International AI Safety summit and he was a Senior Advisor in the production of the International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI for the second AI Safety Summit in Korea.
Partners
