University of Southampton and NAACP reports highlight uneven AI exposure across regional jobs and healthcare access

AI-generated editorial illustration: a stethoscope, an unbranded microchip on a stone block, a blank case folder and a magnifying glass represent workplace AI research and community healthcare equity, not an actual clinical scene.

Around 30% of jobs in Hampshire and the Solent face AI task changes, led by 55,000 high-exposure workers

The University of Southampton published two companion reports on November 5, 2026, at the Business South Annual Conference: How might artificial intelligence affect the labour market in Hampshire and the Solent and Fifty ways Hampshire and the Solent are shaping Britain’s AI revolution. The labour study estimates that roughly 3 in 10 jobs (about 30%) across Hampshire and the Solent are in occupations poised to change because of AI—slightly above the England average—while around 55,000 workers (roughly 5% of the regional workforce) hold roles where AI could take over a large share of daily tasks. Those high-exposure workers are disproportionately female, part-time, and in the middle of their careers. Finance, professional services, information and communications technology, and public administration face the largest shifts, whereas construction, hospitality, and care roles built on physical presence are least directly exposed.¹

At the same time, the reports document rapid regional AI adoption and enterprise formation: the share of local businesses reporting AI use doubled over three years, and the region now hosts more than 200 AI companies, including 57 new AI firms created in 2025 alone. The University of Southampton leads the £31 million Responsible AI UK consortium, while local public-sector deployments include an AI virtual assistant at Hampshire Police and AI-assisted breast screening imaging at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. To prevent uneven displacement, the authors recommend expanded AI skills training, a public-sector exemplar programme, and a transition guarantee to retrain and redeploy at-risk staff.¹

Americans ask 50 million daily health questions on Copilot and Bing, but healthcare deserts and broadband gaps persist

On the same day (November 5, 2026), the NAACP and Sanofi unveiled the third installment of their ACE Your Health StoryMap series—titled AI Fluency is a Challenge on Both Sides of the Exam Room—at the AfroTech Conference 2026 in Houston. Drawing on national datasets and responses from nearly 23,000 community members across 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, the report notes that Americans ask Microsoft Copilot and Bing approximately 50 million health-related questions per day and that 81% of physicians already use AI in their work. Among respondents using AI for health information, 19% reported doing so because they could not afford to see a healthcare provider, and Black adults were significantly more likely than White adults to turn to AI for mental health advice.²

However, structural access and trust barriers limit equitable clinical benefits. The NAACP report finds that 1 in 3 Americans lives in a healthcare desert—including all 154,000 Black residents of the Mississippi Delta, who live more than 25 miles from a four- or five-star hospital—while roughly 3.8 million Black Americans live in households without a broadband internet subscription. Nearly two-thirds of Black adults view racial bias as a major problem in healthcare, and one-third expect AI to increase bias in clinical settings. Both November 5 studies require careful methodological framing: the University of Southampton’s 55,000 figure measures occupational task exposure rather than projected job losses, and the NAACP report synthesizes community survey data with external secondary benchmarks under a partnership co-sponsored by Sanofi.¹²

Source notes

1. 2026-11-05 · AI to reshape work in South, says new report · University of Southampton. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. 2026-11-05 · AI Could Widen Health Disparities, Warns NAACP in a New Report · NAACP. ↩ ↩²