144: Is AI to blame for UK unemployment rate hitting 52% high?

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This video is from the ‘AI with Kyle Live Stream’

First aired: 17 February 2026

Summary: UK unemployment just hit a five-year high — same levels as COVID — and while politicians are busy pointing fingers at each other, I think the more interesting question is what role AI is actually playing in all of this. Spoiler: it's not firing people dramatically. It's doing something far more insidious. Companies are simply choosing not to hire. Entry-level jobs are quietly disappearing, and the 14% unemployment rate among 18-24 year olds is just the beginning of that story.

The structural shift here is the bit that keeps me up at night. Economic cycles reverse — interest rates change, inflation settles — but AI doesn't go away. It has permanently altered the hiring decision, and that's not something that recovers in the next bull market. The good news is there's actually quite a lot you can do about it right now, and that's what we dig into in this one.

—— Time Stamps ——

0:00 Introduction: UK Unemployment Hits a 5-Year High
3:31 The Irreversible Shift: How AI Is Changing the Logic of Hiring
7:08 Why the AI Bubble Won't Kill AI Technology
9:04 How AI Is Quietly Eliminating New Job Creation
14:25 The Corporate Pyramid Is Collapsing
19:20 The Jagged Frontier: Why AI Labs Focus on Coding First
22:10 Warning Signs: Is Your Job Already at Risk?
23:54 3 Types of AI-Resilient Jobs (And Why Nursing Is the Best Example)
27:54 What You Should Actually Do Right Now
29:53 How to Earn £2,000/hr Teaching AI to Businesses
33:50 Q&A Begins / Should You Share Sensitive Data with AI Tools?
35:00 Q&A: Can EU Regulation and Unions Actually Stop AI?
35:55 Breaking News: OpenClaw Creator Peter Steinberger Acquired by OpenAI
36:57 Q&A: How AI Is Transforming Academic Publishing
39:01 Q&A: The Best AI Service to Sell to Local Businesses
40:30 Is OpenAI Actually Profitable? The Real Financial Picture
42:27 The Truth About AI's Environmental and Energy Impact
44:55 Claude vs ChatGPT: User Numbers and the Super Bowl Ad Disaster
46:23 Claude Code, AI Tool Pricing, and the Coming Intelligence Divide
47:52 Why OpenAI Is Adding Ads to ChatGPT (And Why It Makes Sense)
49:15 "If It's Free, You Are the Product" — The Unwritten Contract
51:06 Ethan Mollick's 3 Sleepless Nights: How to Process the AI Revolution

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