The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has called for a practical approach to artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in Australian workplaces, warning that excessive regulation could hinder productivity improvements and limit businesses’ ability to embrace emerging technologies.
Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said AI presented significant opportunities for businesses and workers, particularly in improving productivity, workplace safety and workforce skills.
“Artificial intelligence represents a profound opportunity to deliver benefits for both businesses and workers, including significant and desperately needed productivity improvements,” Willox said.
He said Australia needed a framework that helped businesses and workers harness AI’s potential rather than creating barriers to its adoption.
Willox warned that Australia risked falling behind competitor economies if it adopted a regulation-first approach, arguing that excessive regulatory requirements could discourage businesses from implementing AI technologies.
“As our competitor economies use artificial intelligence as a tool to boost productivity, improve safety and allow workers to improve their skills base, Australia gets the balance wrong and takes a regulate-first mindset which hinders its adoption and fosters wariness,” he said.
Instead, Willox advocated practical industry guidance to help businesses navigate AI adoption, rather than moving quickly to regulate its use.
Ai Group said it had been working with the Australian Government on the development of proposed guidance for workplace AI adoption. Willox described the current draft, which is expected to be released for public comment, as a positive starting point but said further refinement was needed.
“There is a great deal of valuable information in the guide but elements of what is suggested remain impractical and unrealistic,” he said.
Worker consultation was identified as a potential point of disagreement between employers and unions, particularly regarding decisions to introduce AI into workplaces.
Willox acknowledged the value of engaging workers when implementing new technologies but said businesses also needed the flexibility to make timely decisions about adopting emerging technologies.
“All parties inherently recognise the potential benefits of engaging with workers in relation to the implementation of artificial intelligence where appropriate, but we also need to ensure businesses are able to act decisively to seize the opportunity that emerging technologies represent,” he said.
However, he said employers would oppose union proposals for mandatory and extensive consultation before businesses could make decisions about implementing AI.
“Not every potential use of artificial intelligence can or should be up for debate with unions and a best practice guide should not reflect a misguided view that they will be,” Willox said.
He added that employers remained responsible for managing workplace productivity, innovation, safety and business outcomes, and argued that any guidance should recognise their responsibility to make operational decisions.
Ai Group’s position is that workplace AI guidance should support responsible adoption while allowing businesses to pursue productivity and innovation opportunities without impractical consultation requirements.
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