Eliminate jobs tax for workers to compete with AI, says Sunak

Artificial intelligence (AI) is affecting jobs and the economy so profoundly that governments should eliminate National Insurance to make hiring workers more attractive, former PM Rishi Sunak has told the BBC.

Sunak, now an adviser to AI firm Anthropic and Microsoft, said while he is an enthusiast for the transformative impact of AI, he said concerns from graduates looking for entry level jobs were justified.

"There are reasons to be worried and think about the future. But we are able to do something about this," he said.

Sunak suggested rebalancing the tax system by abolishing National Insurance "over time" and replacing with it with taxes on corporate profits.

These, he said, would be boosted by productivity and efficiencies in deploying AI.

Sunak said it is getting tougher for young people getting jobs in service sectors such as law, accountancy and the creative industries.

"So we should be thinking about, well, how do we tip the balance in favour of AI being used in that positive way… to help people do their jobs better [rather than replacing them]," he told BBC Newsnight.

Sunak said that lots of countries will have to examine how to rebalance their systems as they face raising less revenue from taxing employment and will have to find that money elsewhere.

He said the impact on employment by AI "may be different to previous technology cycles, and we want to do what we can to tip the scales in a more positive direction".

Sunak was appointed as an advisor to both Anthropic and tech giant Microsoft last year.

During his time as prime minister, he made tech regulation a significant priority, setting up an AI safety summit in 2023.

Earlier this month, Anthropic announced its new AI model, called Claude Mythos.

The company said it found that the tool can outperform humans at some hacking and cyber-security tasks, prompting discussions by regulators, legislators and financial institutions about the dangers it could pose to digital services.

Sunak, who is also a senior adviser at investment bank Goldman Sachs, said concerns about the development of Mythos showed "we shouldn't rely on companies to mark their own homework".

He said it was to Anthropic's credit and to the UK's benefit, that Britain's AI Security Institute, established under his premiership, had become the first to test Mythos' capabilities.

The Conservative MP also revealed that he had joined forces with Labour's deputy prime minister David Lammy to promote investment in the UK tech sector at a recent AI summit.

Sunak said he was a "big believer" in "Londonmaxxing" and "Britmaxxing" which was how some in the tech industry are describing a wave of recent multi-billion pound investments in the sector.

"I know people like to talk us down...or say that things aren't working but in this area there are huge reasons for us to feel confident and proud," he said. "We are an AI superpower any which way you look at it."

He said the UK had the opportunity to be the world's foremost productive user of AI in the world, on top of now significant presence of companies such as Deepmind, Anthropic and OpenAI in Britain.