Government reassures workers as Amazon’s AI ambitions spark job fears

As fear around the future of work continues for workers amid soaring AI, new Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth has attempted to dispel the trepidation.

Back on 14 June, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor government announced an Amazon Web Services investment of $20 billion into data centre infrastructure in Australia that aims to support artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology applications in the Land Down Under.

Speaking on the announcement, Albanese said: “This significant investment will offer Australian industries the ability to take advantage of the revolutionary opportunities provided by artificial intelligence.

“It will build on Australia’s growing data centre infrastructure and contribute to our economic growth and resilience, including by providing more skilled jobs and AI-ready infrastructure.”

Not long after the announcement, Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy sparked worker fear across the globe, claiming that AI will “reduce” workforces over the coming years.

As reported by News.com.au, Jassy said: “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.

“It’s hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”

This called the Labor government’s investment with Amazon into question, with new Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth speaking on concerns that workers have raised about job replacement.

When asked if she had “any concerns about AI putting Australians out of work at all”, Rishworth replied: “Artificial intelligence provides a huge opportunity for our economy, whether that’s in productivity or indeed in economic growth.

“What we know is we will need to ensure that our workers are properly trained to harness the benefits that AI can bring to a workplace.

“I think that we will continue to see high quality, secure jobs that are the focus of our government, at the same time, being able to embrace technology so that we can continue to see productivity gains in our economy and, importantly, economic growth.”

When quizzed on the threat that AI poses to graduates first entering the workforce amid growing AI, Rishworth said: “I think it is important that our education and training system is preparing our new graduates for the world of work.

“There is a lot of work being done across our government, whether that is through Jason Clare in education and Andrew Giles in skills and training, to ensure that we have an education system that’s fit for purpose and prepares people into the jobs.

“We also have our, importantly, Jobs and Skills Australia, which projects what are the types of jobs and what are the skills we need. So, our government is absolutely focused on how we best prepare people to take up the jobs that will emerge.

“We know that there will be many jobs that will emerge as technology evolves, and we need to ensure that our workforce is prepared for that, and that is the work our government is doing.”