Finance workers in London are most exposed to the threat of AI, and it should put Wall Street on notice – study shows

• The finance and insurance sector is the most exposed to the adoption of AI.
• That's according to a new study from the UK government's Department for Education.
• The report found jobs in finance, law, and business management were likely to be impacted by AI.

A new report that measures AI's effect on London city workers may raise alarm bells on Wall Street.

A UK-based analysis found that the finance and insurance sectors are the most exposed to advances in AI, with London-based professionals predicted to be some of the first to feel the heat from the new tech.

A report by the UK government's Department for Education's Unit for Future Skills measured the industries and areas that would be most affected by the adoption of AI. It found that professional jobs, especially those that involved clerical work or roles based in finance, law, and business management, had a higher exposure to AI.

"The finance & insurance sector is more exposed to AI than any other sector," the report said.

Other sectors, including property, education, and administration were also predicted to be highly impacted by AI. The department also found that employees with qualifications in accounting and finance were typically in jobs likely to be affected by AI.

Based on a methodology developed by US academics, the report measured the exposure of various roles to the new tech. The researchers considered the skills needed for jobs across the UK labor market and how much they could be helped by common AI uses including speech and image recognition, translation, and language modeling.

Occupations with the least exposure to the adoption of AI included trade workers such as roofers and steel erectors.

Here are the top ten UK sectors with the highest exposure to AI:

1. Management consultants and business analysts

   
   
   

2. Financial managers and directors

   
   
   

3. Charted and certified accountants

   
   
   

4. Psychologists

   
   
   

5. Purchasing managers and directors

   
   
   

6. Actuaries, economists, and statisticians

   
   
   

7. Business and financial project management professionals

   
   
   

8. Finance and investment analysts and advisers

   
   
   

9. Legal professionals

   
   
   

10. Business and related associate professionals