The wave of layoffs in the tech industry is believed to be caused by the introduction of AI.
photograph: RNZ
A global report predicts a wave of job cuts in the technology sector will continue until the end of the year, directly or indirectly due to the introduction of AI and workflow automation.
The report estimates that around 80,000 technology jobs have been lost worldwide since the start of the year, including 4,450 in Australia.
RationalFX, a US-based personal finance and trading education platform, said: “Automation, artificial intelligence integration and sustained cost discipline measures continue to drive the majority of headcount reductions, with entire departments being reorganized or eliminated and leaner AI-assisted workflows adopted.”
Sarah Carney, chief technology officer at Microsoft ANZ, said AI-related skills were in high demand, with job ads highlighting AI skills increasing by 300% on Microsoft’s LinkedIn.
Mr Carney said Microsoft was creating 200,000 training opportunities in New Zealand, in addition to the 100,000 previously announced, to address the industry’s shortage of skilled workers.
“There are 300,000 new AI skillsets in New Zealand, but our focus is on how people can evolve their skills for the jobs of tomorrow,” Mr Carney said.
“We like to focus on broad AI skills, especially entry-level skills, because what we need to think about is how do we transform the workforce that we have?
“We know there will be a change in the way people work, so now we really need to think about how to equip them with the skills for new jobs that are evolving as they evolve.”
He said older people are in a strong position to take full advantage of AI tools.
Experienced employees were able to understand how to get the most out of AI faster than those born into the digital age with little or no experience with analog processes.
Carney said older adults appear to have little trouble adapting to AI.
He said younger people are experimenting with AI and older workers are making the most of it.
“We find that older generations are actually good at AI because they know what their jobs involve. They know where the value is, and it’s very easy for them to delegate tasks to AI that they previously didn’t like but had to do, like admin, and find value in a fundamentally different way.”
A recent SEEK report also points to the increased demand for AI specialists.
According to a report from Seek AI Gauge, “demand for AI-related skills in job advertising has more than quadrupled over the past decade.”
The types of skills associated with AI jobs included machine learning and large-scale language models, and terms related to agenttic AI and AI governance were prevalent.
The SEEK report also said that marketing and communications roles using AI terminology have increased rapidly in recent years.
“Despite this increase, the total number of ads seeking AI-related skills remains relatively low,” SEEK said.
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