Paul Nowak's speech at The Past We Inherit, The Future We Build event on AI in Northumberland

Speaking at an AI conference in Blyth on 6^th February 2026, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak set out the need for a pro-worker strategy for AI.

The conference, "The Past We Inherit, The Future We Build," was led and organised by Ian Lavery, MP for Blyth and Ashington. Blyth is part of the North East AI Growth Zone, designated by government in September 2025. The region is slated to become one of the largest data centre hubs in Europe. 

Read the full speech below: 

Thanks to Ian for organising this event – [this is a] really important initiative. And thanks for inviting me to speak. 

It’s great to be back here in the North East. 

I was the TUC’s regional secretary here over two decades ago when the widespread application of AI was pretty much the stuff of science fiction, but now – 20 years on – this part of the world is a key part of the government’s national AI Growth Zone[s]. 

And a perfect place to set out the TUC’s thinking on how we deliver AI innovation that is pro-worker. On how we protect jobs, boost skills, and enhance rights and dignity at work. And how we deliver hope to working people at a time of huge turbulence. 

I want to talk about all those things, but in shorthand, I want to argue two key points, which at first sight might seem contradictory, but in reality, I think are both true at the same time. 

AI is – and will be – a transformative technology. 

It has the potential to destroy jobs. To reshape whole industries. To deskill a generation of workers. And to reinforce the inequalities which already tear at the fabric of our society. 

But AI also has the potential to boost productivity. To enhance and unleash human creativity. And to deliver a digital dividend that could be used for the public good, not just for billionaires to send celebrities into space. 

Those contradictions are writ large in the workplace. 

Some jobs will go. Others will change. And – as with any wave of technological change – new jobs will be created. 

For working people, this isn’t an abstract debate about the future – the impact is being felt here and now:  

• We’re already seeing evidence of a slowdown in entry level and graduate jobs.
• Four in ten bosses say AI is allowing them to cut jobs as they seek to automate work. 
• And so-called dynamic pricing means that workers in the platform economy get played off against each other – and the algorithm – driving down wages. 

Just last week, a study from Morgan Stanley said that the UK is losing more jobs than it creates because of AI, and the boss of J P Morgan warned recently that governments may have to step in to help workers whose jobs are displaced by AI – or risk civil unrest. 

So, my starting point today is simply this: we cannot and must not allow AI to unleash another wave of 1980s-style social and economic destruction. 

Blyth, like my hometown of Birkenhead, and like so many other towns across the North, the Midlands, Wales and Scotland, is a town scarred by deindustrialisation. 

So it is vital that we learn from the mistakes of the past. And it is vital that we make the most of the investment in the massive new datacentre complex here in Blyth. 

And it’s vital we are not misty eyed about that investment or other investments across the country but ask ourselves some hard questions. About the number of good jobs those data centres will sustain after the construction phase. About what they might mean for industrial energy costs and by extension energy costs for other industries. And about their environmental footprint.  

And we must make sure we don’t overpromise when it comes to jobs, opportunities and regeneration. 

Now I know Ian, local councillors and policymakers already know this. And I know that’s why they are focussed not just on data centres, but on a whole set of broader opportunities as well, whether it’s offshore energy or the new skills you are promoting here at the Energy Central campus. 

But all of this this speaks to what kind of economy we want to build, what kind of opportunities we want to offer to working-class communities, and what kind of future we want to build for regions like the North East. 

And with that in mind, I just want to make three quick points this afternoon. 

My first point is simple: as the name of this event suggests, we really can build and shape the future. 

We must make clear political choices to enable working people to thrive through the upheavals ahead, to make the necessary trade-offs to actively manage the risks and benefits of AI. And to ensure workers, as well as the City and Big Tech, benefit from the productivity gains AI will bring, so the digital dividend lifts all boats – not just the super yachts. 

And let’s remember: we – unions, politicians, policy makers, government - remain powerful agents of change. We can protect workers, regulate AI, and make it a force for good, as well as a driver of disruption. 

AI is not some other-worldly force.  

So while this is a moment of risk and change, it is also a time of opportunity: 

• To create good new jobs and improve job quality.
• To build new sources of industrial strength, rebalance our economy and build more resilient public services.
• To deliver prosperity outside of London and the South East.
• And to finally deliver on better work-life balance – if only workers can claim a fair share. 

We can’t afford to sit back, wait for the market to decide and suffer the consequences. 

Instead, we need a much more activist approach, rooted in the three ‘I’s: Intervention, Investment, Involvement. 

Last week, secretary of state Liz Kendall said the impact of technology would be like the industrial changes of the 1980s. But it was good to hear her promise that communities would not be left behind – and that people would not be told to get on their bikes, Norman Tebbit-style. 

The TUC welcomes a lot of what the government is doing to meet and master the profound challenges posed by AI:  

• The new industrial strategy, with a strong focus on the digital and technology sector.
• A new Future of Work unit in the Department for Science, Industry and Innovation with union and CBI participation.
• And the creation of Skills England with a strong voice for unions to ensure we empower workers with high-quality skills for the AI era. 

I would argue we need to be even bolder and use every lever at our disposal to deliver change: 

• Tackling the exploitative entanglement of big tech in our public services.
• Leveraging government procurement of AI and digital services by linking getting government contracts to quality jobs and training.
• Reforming corporate governance and collective bargaining on AI so that workers have a voice in the future.
• Ensuring the tens of billions we spend on AI R&D is used to produce socially useful technology.
• And putting more resources into lifelong learning and retraining.
• And we could do worse than explore the potential of a universal learning allowance. 

With AI unleashing more skills and jobs dislocation, there’s a strong case for proper financial support that allows people without a job, or looking to move jobs, to participate in high-quality, career-relevant further or higher education. 

And there’s a raft of other options that need to be explored: 

• Training subsidies for displaced workers.
• A potential redeployment programme to transfer workers to sectors with skills shortages.
• A time-limited job subsidy scheme for workers and companies at the sharp end of industrial change.
• The reintroduction of Educational Maintenance Allowances; and
• Stronger unemployment insurance – so people don't fall off the edge of a financial cliff if they decide to retrain, move jobs, or are made redundant 

But it’s not just about leadership and intervention from government. 

All of us must work together: businesses, unions, academics, local politicians, education providers – we all have an important role to play. 

And this takes me onto my second point: we need a plan. 

As with the challenges posed by the climate crisis and the path to net zero, we need a just transition [for those] who may be impacted by AI. 

I understand why people are worried. AI is already making decisions about recruitment, performance, promotion, redundancy and dismissal that affect millions. And our polling shows workers are concerned about the potential for inequality, discrimination and unfairness. 

And – more fundamentally – about their job security now and in the future. Just a quarter are happy with the way new tech is being introduced.  And the vast majority want to see unions having at least an equal say with business on this critical question. 

That’s why the TUC has set out a plan for a pro-worker AI innovation strategy. 

Why we’re engaging with government to develop the principles, policies and laws we need. 

And why we're calling for effective regulation of AI: 

• Curbing the power of a Big Tech establishment that is often hostile – here, and in the US – to unions
• Preventing employers from cynically automating jobs solely in the pursuit of shareholder value.
• Protecting the intellectual copyright of writers, actors, artists and musicians.
• And putting in place new rights for workers in a labour market that is changing fast. 

The TUC's proposed AI Bill sets out how the law needs to change to introduce minimum standards of responsible uses of AI when it comes to managing staff. Workers want confidence that government is on their side – that ministers really do have a clear, compelling plan for the future. 

And what's good for workplaces is good for society more generally. 

We need an honest debate about who will benefit from technological change. Is our tax system equipped to capture the digital dividend for the many not just the few? I suspect not. Not just here. But around Europe and indeed around the world.  

So, we need a tax system that ensures companies are incentivised to invest in new technology – but also ensures that we all benefit from its introduction. 

And that links to my third and final point: to ensure workers, their families, their communities, and their unions really shape change. 

Without a strong collective voice for working people, AI will bring division as well as disruption. We know from experience that rapid technological change only delivers social progress when workers and unions are empowered. 

After all, we represent workers at the sharp end of change. 

Not just the technicians, IT specialists, scientists, academics, and teachers shaping the development and deployment of AI. But all the others – in healthcare, local government, finance, retail and elsewhere – who are already feeling its impact. And their expertise, experience and concerns must shape our approach to the future.  

As the old adage says: nothing about us, without us. 

AI is simply too big, too important, to be left to the whims of the tech moguls and other corporate interests. Because getting AI right is not solely - or even mainly - a technical challenge: it about managing change in a fair and effective way. 

With the right policies, delivered at the right pace, we can provide opportunities to the workers that need them most: 

• Whether that’s older workers here in Blyth who have already lived through decades of industrial change.
• Or young graduates, apprentices and workers trying to get a foothold in the world of work.
• Or the millions more, in every part of the economy and every corner of the country, who face uncertainty in the years ahead. 

As I said at the start, we really can shape the future. 

It takes political will, a new economic framework, and a different philosophy. Thinking big, developing a compelling plan for change, and involving workers and unions. 

From 19th century debates about “the machinery question” to 20th century mass production and automation, the labour movement has always shaped economic change – the TUC has been doing it since 1868. 

And amidst the 21st century tech revolution, we must do so once again. 

So, my message today: work with unions to make AI work for us. 

Because the choice we face is simple: We either let change happen to us, with Big Tech in the driving seat, or we get our act together and shape pro-worker change now.  

Now I don’t often quote John F Kennedy in my speeches, but I want to finish with his words: 

“A revolution is coming – a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough – but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.” 

It’s time to seize the moment. 

Time to put workers first. 

Time to make AI a genuine force for good.