How generative AI will impact tasks, not jobs

Our latest research looks at the implications of generative AI on work and productivity.

Our firm recently completed a study that was profiled in the ABC, the AFR (as an op-ed and in the news section) and the on generative AI and the implications for work and productivity:

We find that generative AI will replace tasks rather than jobs, allowing workers to focus on higher-value activities. We did this by looking at the top 10 occupations identified in the American research as being most exposed to generative AI and then used our micro dataset on job ads to identify the tasks that relate to each job and measured how many of those tasks will be replaced based on taxonomies from the AI literature.

Around 500,000 Australians are working in the 10 occupations most exposed to ChatGPT, Bing or Bard.

We estimate that about half a million Australians are currently working in the 10 occupations most exposed to large-language models like ChatGPT, Bing or Bard. This is a diverse group that includes telemarketers and tertiary educators, psychologists and counsellors, as well as judges and lawyers… and policy and management consultants.

But, generative AI only impacts about one-third of tasks, freeing up time for more creative, high value, less boring work.

Importantly we also find that, for the top 10 occupations most exposed to generative AI, generative AI impacts only about one-third of the tasks associated with each job on average. This will allow workers to focus on their other tasks, lifting productivity and making people’s jobs more engaging.

This could help drive productivity and unlock new benefits for Australia.

Read the full report here.