'Colossal impact' | 'Weapon of mass destruction of jobs' - Sadiq Khan's AI warning divides business leaders

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has warned that artificial intelligence risks becoming “a weapon of mass destruction of jobs” if its development is allowed to race ahead without sufficient oversight.

Speaking at Mansion House on Thursday evening, the Labour politician said the pace of AI adoption posed a significant threat to London’s workforce, particularly in sectors such as finance, professional services and the creative industries. His intervention comes against the backdrop of growing concern over the creation of sexualised deepfake images of women and children using Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot.

While Khan urged urgent action to harness AI’s benefits, critics have questioned whether framing the technology primarily as a job-destroyer risks undermining confidence just as employers are being encouraged to invest and upskill.

‘A choice we must make’ on AI and jobs'

Sir Sadiq said London was at “the sharpest edge of change” because of the “colossal” impact AI is expected to have across the capital’s economy.