“Knowledge workers” in finance, accounting and tech who live on the North Shore will be among the hardest hit by AI job automation, according to new analysis.
What happened: A report by public policy consultancy SGS Economics and Planning lists North Sydney, Willoughby and Ku-ring-gai as the most vulnerable council areas in Australia to “AI-driven disruption".
Unlike previous waves of automation, the report claims, which focused on “routine, manual occupations”, AI is “increasingly capable of supporting or automating cognitive tasks”.
It refers to these occupations as “knowledge work”, including jobs in finance, tech, marketing, accountancy and IT.
Sweaty white collars: “This new disruption looks set to concentrate instead in the professional heart of our cities, among the workers and industries that have historically been shielded from technological displacement.”
The report said 43.5 percent of tasks performed by workers living in North Sydney are exposed to AI automation, the highest of any LGA.
The report compares the impact of the AI revolution to Australia’s shift away from manufacturing in the late 20th century, but “compressed into a much shorter time frame”.
Thumbnail: Dominic Kurniawan via Unsplash