Australian HR Professionals Confident AI Won’t Replace Jobs

Australian HR professionals see AI as a productivity booster, not a threat to job security.

A recent survey by the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) showed that most HR professionals in Australia are not worried about being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). The survey, to which 236 HR leaders responded, showed that 82.1% of them disagreed with the idea that job loss because of adopting AI was imminent, and only 8.5% thought their jobs were under threat.

Although job loss caused by AI is a global concern, particularly in vulnerable industries, HR practitioners appear largely unmoved. The survey also concluded that 64.7% of them do not believe that AI will replace other jobs in their companies, with only 21.8% forecasting workforce reductions due to the implementation of AI.

The HR leaders' optimism may rest in current applications of AI within the workplace that will most likely hit repetitive administrative tasks such as the writing of job descriptions, the creation of reports, and composing of emails. Since such tasks are not a danger to top-level HR roles, job security is not directly threatened by AI. Nevertheless, the report also pinpointed a knowledge gap, particularly with professionals who were slower in adopting technology.

Despite global optimism, individuals still fear AI. The most important issues cited are dangers to data security (66%), bias, and reliance on poor data. Although most respondents did embrace the benefits of AI, with 86% stating it enhances productivity and 81% stating it makes workers perform better.

AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett called upon HR professionals to develop new competencies and embrace AI-based HR practices in order to harness the complete potential of the technology within the workplace.