Fewer hours and higher wages – or more burnout and surveillance: employers told to prepare for AI
Summary
Australia’s government has issued guidance urging employers to consult workers about how workplace AI may affect jobs and to help staff move into new roles. The guide says AI could improve pay, hours and work, but also warns of risks including job losses, heavier workloads, intrusive monitoring and discrimination.Key Facts
- Workplace relations minister Amanda Rishworth launched a government guide on adopting AI at work.
- The guide recommends giving workers a clear plan for how automation may affect their jobs and opportunities to build skills or move into other roles.
- The guide says AI could raise productivity and improve services, while potentially supporting higher wages, shorter hours and more meaningful work.
- It warns that AI may increase workplace surveillance, worsen rostering, intensify performance demands and contribute to discrimination.
- Rishworth warned that adding AI without consulting workers could increase workloads rather than reduce them.
- Greens leader David Shoebridge called for legal protections against surveillance and job cuts, arguing that voluntary guidance was not enough.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia said it had seen little evidence so far that AI was disrupting the country’s labour market, while future effects remained uncertain.
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