AI is not coming for your job – just yet, says a government report.
Released by Jobs and Skills Australia, the report – Our Gen AI Transition – says, “Current Gen AI technologies are more likely to enhance workers’ efforts in completing tasks, rather than replace them – especially in high-skilled occupations.”
Not such good news for receptionists or bookkeepers. “The higher potential for automation is concentrated in routine clerical and administrative roles,” says the report.
By taking on day-to-day mundanities, Gen AI “will allow more focus on higher-value tasks or skilling”. However, Gen AI’s ability to increasingly handle complex tasks “raises questions about the future roles of labour and capital, and education and training”.
Acknowledging that automation is a concern to many people, the report’s authors say the impact of AI is not pre-determined. “Decisions made across the economy, in the labour market and skills system, and in policy will shape how Australia will realise the opportunities of this new technology and manage the challenges.”
The extent of labour market disruption is difficult to assume.
How Australia responds to both the opportunities and challenges from AI, and future iterations of the technology, like Agentic AI – which can make decisions and achieve goals with minimal human oversight – will fundamentally shape our economy and society. So government must act quick, be proactive and develop forward-looking policies, say the report’s authors, “even if Gen AI’s potential or likely impact is not clear”.
At this stage, “the implications for displacement, or the extent of labour market disruption, are particularly difficult to assume … modelling suggests we may not see the most significant employment effects for a decade”, says the report. What is known is “Gen AI is likely to accelerate the rates of skill change across many occupations in the labour market, particularly as technology use cases continue to evolve”.
Responding to the pace of change “is a critical challenge”, says the report. “Effective use of Gen AI depends on how well it is integrated into work. That means skilled workers are essential. Australia must act quickly to build the right skills – not just to use Gen AI, but to adapt to future technologies.”
JSA recommends the Australian Government takes a leadership role in stewarding the medium-term transition to a Gen AI-enabled labour market and economy, “acting with urgency and dynamism proportionate to the scale of both the opportunities and challenges ahead”.
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