Australia’s tech sector and unions will work together on a model that pays creatives for content used to train artificial intelligence.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said the peak union body reached a breakthrough with Tech Council chairman Scott Farquhar at the government’s economic reform roundtable late on Wednesday.
“There’s agreement that we’re going to give this a real good go at coming up with a model that makes sure that people are actually paid for what they produce. So that’s a big thing,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the summit in Parliament House on Thursday.
The deal comes as a major bank’s backflip shines a light on concerns about AI replacing human workers.
Unions and business groups had been preparing for a bust-up when the three-day talkfest turned to AI on Wednesday, given disagreement in the lead-up around the need to regulate the burgeoning technology.
The ACTU called for agreements forcing employers to consult staff before introducing new AI technology into workplaces, while business groups warned increased regulation would stifle AI’s adoption and potential productivity benefits.
“I wasn’t going into that conversation thinking, actually, that there would be much agreement around the table,” Ms McManus said.
“Actually, in the end, there was a lot of common ground. None of us want to see AI used in a way that’s going to destroy jobs. None of us want to see AI leading to the theft, as is happening now, of the work of creatives and journalists and also academics.”
Business groups also said there was more agreement in the room than they had anticipated.
“I made the point that there’s risk not just for workers,” said Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox.
“Business owners are looking at their own future or extinction. So I think there was a lot of understandings there.”
While the union still wants to see a comprehensive AI act to manage the technology’s rollout, Ms McManus said it was more invested in achieving a fair outcome rather than a specific mechanism.
“We don’t want people’s jobs completely destroyed. We don’t want a small number of billionaires that aren’t even in our country to be controlling things,” she said.
“There’s also the other side, and it’s a utopian side, that AI can be a superpower for all of us.”
The Finance Sector Union has called for a “digital just transition” to protect white collar workers from being replaced by AI.
The union claimed victory on Thursday after Commonwealth Bank backflipped on a decision to make 45 call centre jobs redundant due to the introduction of a new AI-powered voice bot which the bank claimed would cut call volumes.
A CBA spokesperson said it made an error in assessing that the roles were no longer required because the bank “did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations”.
“We have apologised to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required.”
The Tech Council has been contacted for comment.
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