AI job threats stoke concern as True Believers gather

In a few days Labor will hold the first national conference of the AI ​​era.

As thousands of attendees gather at the Adelaide convention center for the three-day event, discussions are expected to be dominated by the implications of new technology spanning numerous industries.

From office blocks to newsrooms, roads and docks, unions want assurances about the impacts of AI on jobs and the wider economy to be written into Labour’s main policy document.

While government sources hope the prime minister’s personal intervention in Wednesday’s AI debate will ease some concerns among the gathering of Labor faithful traditionally known as True Believers, the issue is still far from resolved.

Held once per parliamentary term, the conference is usually held with the utmost stage management; This conference is likely to be “pretty quiet” as the party looks secure in power in its second term, complains a Labor MP to the AAP.

But on key issues there is usually some dissent: a bone to be thrown to the party’s broader membership base, which is generally more progressive than its parliamentary group.

Although unions are still finalizing their motions, which they will submit by noon the day before the debate is scheduled for debate, some rank-and-file members are also agitating for action on gambling reform, housing, Palestine and artificial intelligence.

A fierce debate over AUKUS (like the one in 2023, when the party’s commitment to the nuclear submarine treaty was presented to the conference floor) is unlikely to be repeated.

At the time, Defense Secretary Richard Marles was heckled in the conference room, his colleague Pat Conroy angrily suggested that those opposing the deal were “appeasers”, Labor backbencher Josh Wilson broke the party line to oppose AUKUS, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a personal defense of the deal.

Multiple sources attending the conference confirmed that unions are more focused this time on the jobs the military deal will create.

The debate on the Middle East is also likely to remain relatively subdued, a senior union source told AAP.

“There’s a sense or atmosphere around the conference that says ‘let’s focus on the things where we can really make a difference here in Australia’,” says the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive party matters.

But with AI-driven redundancies already gripping parts of the Australian economy, the technology’s impact on workers could prompt unions to take action to protect their turf.

White-collar unions representing the public service and finance sectors will focus on the effects of generative AI on office jobs; Blue-collar unions, on the other hand, are deeply concerned about the automation of roles in the coming years.

The Financial Industry Association, the Australian Maritime Union and the Community and Public Service Union are among those pushing for greater protections.

The Transport Workers Union also wants stronger regulations on robo-taxis, which are available overseas but have yet to come to Australia.

Google’s sister company, Waymo, operates about 4,000 robot taxis in the U.S. and plans to expand to Japan, London and, one day, potentially Australia.

”We will be really insistent on this issue. “We’re not burying our heads in the sand; we know this technology is here, but we want to be in control,” TWU secretary Michael Kaine told AAP.

The TWU’s motion calls for human supervision of “safety-critical” functions and assistance, including retraining and income protection for drivers who lose their jobs.

The union argues that workers should share the benefits of innovation rather than bear its costs.

Mr Kaine portrays the conference as Labor’s political and industrial wings coming together to shape the party’s policy direction for years to come.

“We want sustainable industries, sustainable businesses that support sustainable and safe jobs, and we are following that in our agenda at the conference,” he says.

”What we expect to happen is that when words appear in the policy platform of the Australian Labor Party, those words and policies will be taken very seriously and acted upon by the government before long.”

While the Labor Party platform voted at the conference is binding, it is up to the parliamentary party to decide when to act on new policies.

Meanwhile, the media union will push for a change to guarantee creators are given a share of the revenue if their work is used by third parties such as AI companies.

If supported, the “fair pricing” provision would apply if artificial intelligence companies make deals with record labels, broadcasters and other media companies.

But the debate over AI extends far beyond jobs and wages: the Electrical Trades Union, a key player in the previous debate over AUKUS, is pushing for a commitment to build independent energy to power data centres, AI and heavy industry.

”We are at a turning point. Electricity is no longer a substitutable vertical; It is a fundamental economic input that is as central to the economy as currency,” says ETU secretary Michael Wright.

As it stands now, Labour’s draft platform commits the party to building “independent AI and quantum computing capacity” and using government procurement to support Australian AI.

It also includes a promise to consider whether Australia’s workplace watchdog, the Fair Work Commission, is appropriately set up to address AI issues and to investigate the establishment of an expert panel to guide the agency’s decision-making process.

“Labour believes that employers must take steps to ensure that the adoption of AI does not deepen existing inequalities or leave any workers behind,” the draft platform reads. The statement is included.

“If the adoption of AI leads to significant displacement of jobs, Labor will play an active role in the economy-wide transition.”

Unions are expected to sharpen their demands in the final days before the conference, crunching the numbers to decide which motions will succeed and which will be left on the cutting room floor.