Government, unions, employers to collaborate on AI through new forum

The federal government has announced its AI Employment and Workplaces Forum to tackle the challenges of AI in the workforce.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on HR Leader’s sister brand, AI Daily.

Companies across Australia and the globe are rushing to embrace artificial intelligence and the productivity boons it promises – however, at the same time, ordinary workers are often the ones to suffer staff cuts and layoffs, and unions aren’t pleased.

In an endeavour to sever this Gordian Knot, Australia’s Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Amanda Rishworth (pictured), has announced its solution to the problem of AI adoption and its impact on workers.

“That is why we need a tripartite dialogue, to bring all parties together, and work out how we can get those productivity benefits, ensure workers are brought along on the journey, and that those benefits are shared,” Rishworth told the AFR’s Workforce Summit in Sydney.

“One of the ways I am building this dialogue is through the newly elevated AI Employment and Workplaces Forum.”

The “tripartite Forum” will consist of government, unions, and employers, with the first sitting of the group taking place on April 29 with a ministerial-level meeting.

“The Forum will examine five key themes which will be essential to the adoption of AI in workplaces: trust, capability, transparency, safety and productivity," Rishworth said.

“These themes will shape our discussions on how we can build common understanding and translate these themes into actions and outcomes in workplaces.”

The minister said her department is currently conducting a gap analysis to assess the viability of current frameworks and how they are interacting with AI adoption.

However, Rishworth added that there will be challenges made by all parties to the forum.

“Tripartism does not, and should not, involve a right of veto. There will always be contestability – and I am not pretending this will be a silver bullet solution,” Rishworth said.

“But I really believe tripartism can build shared understanding and trust.”

To assist in building a framework for the forum to work around, Rishworth also said the government will look at how the labour market has changed since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, particularly in relation to “entry-level roles and workforce composition.”

A report will be “forthcoming,” however Rishworth did share some preliminary findings.

“Pleasingly, employment outcomes for young tertiary graduates have been positive, despite some expectations that they could be the ‘canaries in the coalmine’ for AI in the workplace,” Rishworth said.

So far, the government is not seeing an increase in compositional change. According to the data, “the mix of jobs in the economy is not changing faster than usual”.

“However, we are starting to see a slight softening in the rate of growth for occupations that are most exposed to AI adoption, like filing clerks or keyboard operators,” Rishworth said.

“Now, I would say that this data is reflective of a particular point in time, and is not predictive. But it will help build a shared understanding of what is actually happening in the labour market, which gives us a platform to build trust.”