General news

Perhaps equally unsurprising is that 73% of finance workers have not had a conversation about how AI will be used in their workplace.

These two facts are not unrelated. They come from our latest AI report, which is underpinned by thousands of responses to our sector-wide survey.

The report, which puts workers’ attitudes towards AI front and centre, makes one thing abundantly clear: AI in finance is moving quickly. Protections are not.

Over the past month we’ve been meeting with politicians to put your views in front of those who are making key decisions about how AI will be regulated in the future.

Govt’s plan must go further to protect finance workers

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has released its new AI plan, which includes establishing an Australian AI Safety Institute. The plan is a welcome first step in acknowledging the impacts AI has already had on many of us.

But it needs to go much further. Right now, AI is being deployed to drive down costs, not improve working conditions. Voluntary guidelines will not shift employers’ behaviours.

Until workers have enforceable rights, limits on surveillance and real pathways when roles change, AI in finance will keep being used against workers, not for us.

The government may have released its AI plan, but our work to shape the government’s agenda is only just beginning.

To keep finance workers safe, we’re calling for laws that guarantee:

• workers have a say when new technology is being implemented;
• workers have the skills and training to be part of the finance sector of the future;
• workers have adequate support and time to find redeployment opportunities or retrain if they are displaced by new technology; and
• workplace surveillance is only used to keep workers safe.

Your voice is critical to ensure workers share in the benefits of AI, rather than AI simply boosting profits. Read more about our campaign and get involved today.