Fiona says it was last year when she first started to become suspicious that AI could be a threat to her job.
The business development specialist, whom RNZ has agreed not to identify because she is going through an employment dispute with her former employer, says she was told there was a specific AI platform that she had to start using.
Then this month, she has been made redundant, because AI was taking over her role.
“I believe that AI is a tool and not a complete solution and my workplace has treated it like a complete solution.
“It’s ultimately going to be self defeating as it still needs input into the development of the actual work itself. Without that, AI input is always going to lack actual depth and understanding.”
She said about 60 people in the organisation were affected, although the business made it clear it was not in any financial trouble, just looking for a way to save money.
“I think this raises a big question for us in general, if mass layoffs are going to happen.”
Workers First general secretary Dennis Maga said he was not seeing mass redundancies due to AI yet but there was a growing sense that it was coming.
“Workers in some businesses are already reporting an increase in invasive performance monitoring by AI tools, and requests for people to train or work alongside artificial models that could one day replace their labour,” he said.
“We saw this in the recent loss of over 130 jobs with Woolworths moving their customer care team to Australia. Workers there had been training an AI model that they say will now be used to train their Australian replacements, and could potentially in future replace their labour, too.”
He said Workers First wanted to see mandatory agreements between employers seeking to introduce AI technology and their staff, to protect their rights at work.
“These workplace agreements would support data protection and privacy, job security, skills development and retraining – rather than sending skilled workers to the dole queue because an employer wants to cut costs.
“More than anything, we really need a government that is sensitive to the risks in New Zealand’s workforce and our economy, and one that is willing to regulate and be proactive, not indifferent.
“One of the most concerning aspects of AI is the lack of a regulatory body, in New Zealand and internationally, to oversee its use and protect privacy. While replacing workers with AI may cut companies’ labour costs, it also creates privacy risks for workers and customers.”
Sam Gribben of E Tu union said some of his membership were facing disruption due to AI, including journalists.
“In the recent Stuff Ltd restructure, the members wrote an open letter that specifically talks about the company’s shift from hard local news to content that was seemingly generated with the help of AI .”
Seek has reported that the proportion of job ads that refer to AI-related skills has increased by more than 90 percent over the past year.
Employment lawyer Alison Maelzer said she had already dealt with a few cases where roles had been disestablished at least partially because of the time savings and efficiencies gained through AI.
She said any proposal had to follow the same process as any other redundancy.
“The employer needs to explain what is being proposed, why, and how that relates to the role concerned. The employer needs to provide all relevant information to the employees potentially impacted, and seek their feedback. That feedback then needs to be genuinely considered, before any decisions can be made.
“Perhaps one of the traps for employers would be in not sufficiently explaining why increased efficiencies, due to AI, are proposed to affect that particular role – i.e. linking the reason for the restructure to the specific position, and providing sufficient information about it. It is a little bit similar to the trap of employers predicating a restructure on ‘difficult economic times’ but not explaining why an economic downturn is proposed to affect Role X, rather than Roles Y and Z.”
Economists are split on how the implementation of AI will affect he workforce.
The Reserve Bank has identified that growth in the economy might not lead to the same increase in employment that would normally be expected, if businesses were more focused on efficiency and technology investment in things like AI in the short term.
When she appeared at the finance and expenditure select committee, governor Anna Breman said businesses could use technology to create productivity gains, which would normally create more jobs.
She said there was discussion in New Zealand and overseas about whether some employers might be reluctant to employ younger people, and might instead deploy AI tools. While she did not think it would be a problem in the medium term, she said it could be an issue in the short term, particularly for young people.
Murat Ungor, economist at Otago University, said he thought AI would deliver opportunities, too.
“We need to prepare for the changing job market caused by automation and AI. By understanding how AI will affect skills and wages, we can develop educational and training programmes to help workers succeed in the future. “The public should understand that the future of work will require different skills from those needed in the past. AI-powered education can help people develop these skills, such as working with AI tools, critical thinking, and problem-solving. The earlier people start developing these skills, the better positioned they will be in the job market.”
Massey University economist Matt Roskruge said job losses could be significant in some occupations but it was not clear how the country as a whole could be affected.
“AI doesn’t need to replace an entire job to cost someone theirs. If a team of five can do the same work with four people, that can mean a redundancy, or one fewer vacancy the next time someone leaves,” he said.
“What I find interesting is that if we look at earlier disruptive technologies, from steam engines through to computers and the internet, we do see some occupations disappear, but we also see whole new occupations and business opportunities emerge. I’m reasonably optimistic AI could follow a similar pattern, although I wouldn’t assume the new jobs will come along as quickly as the old ones go.
“So my view is that we could see real disruption in the short term, even without a big rise in unemployment overall. I’m hopeful about the long term benefits, but that’s little comfort to someone who has just lost their job.”
Fiona said she was worried about the prospect of applying for another job.
“Especially after the announcement of the latest unemployment figures. I’m hopeful that some employers will see that keeping actual people will end up being an advantage over adaptation of the same platform that all their competitors potentially end up using… really losing their own unique offering and voice.
“I am also very concerned that we aren’t seeing any real direction and answers at a government level at what this actually means for people and our society. We are going to potentially lose thousands and thousands of what have traditionally been stable, well paying jobs. It’s going to cause a huge effect on the labour market and the glut of availability of labour is going to push everyone’s income and working conditions down.”
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