AI and the Disappearance of Accessible Work - A Structural Risk to Disability Inclusion in the UK

Generative AI is rapidly transforming the UK labour market. While much attention has focused on bias in recruitment algorithms, a deeper and more systemic threat is emerging: the elimination of desk-based roles that disabled individuals disproportionately rely on. These roles—creative, administrative, and technical—are being automated at scale, often without safeguards or consideration for their accessibility value.

This paper reviews and collates currently available information to examine how profoundly AI is affecting disability inclusion in the UK. It exposes the need to reframe AI fairness from the current narrative. That it is not enough to ensure disabled candidates are treated equitably during recruitment. If the roles themselves are disappearing, exclusion is in fact occurring before any hiring process begins. This is not merely a technical oversight—it may constitute indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

The paper outlines the nature of this risk, reviews the legal and regulatory landscape, and catalogues the AI tools that have matured to the point of full role displacement. It exposes the need for inclusive design standards, legal scrutiny, and cross-sector collaboration to ensure that AI empowers rather than excludes.