‘People are worried': AI boss reveals what is really going to happen to everyone's jobs
The couple felt compelled to make the assurance as there's been growing concern about how the introduction of AI (artificial intelligence) will impact people's jobs in Australia.
Analysis from Australian policy organisation the Social Policy Group (SPG) found if Australia maintains its current pace of AI adoption, one third of the workforce could experience a period of unemployment by 2030.
Mr Priestley said when he tells people at parties he runs an AI business, the most common response is concern that jobs will be lost in the technology revolution, but he swears that isn't the case at all.
'It isn't about cutting jobs it is about making businesses sustainable,' he told news.com.au.
Has AI changed your job? Share your story: mary.madigan@news.com.au
Mr Priestley is used to being ahead of the curve.
The 34-year-old started with a background in engineering and was working as a firefighter when he pivoted and opened an events business, where people can hire shirtless firefighters as entertainment.
He says he has always had a knack for identifying gaps in the market, and his AI business, Click Road, was born out of his experience adapting AI into his own business.
He doesn't think Aussies should feel too threatened by AI because the tools that are available should help people do their jobs better, not make them unnecessary.
Mr Priestley said in his events business he uses AI to streamline his work, and the tool helps prevents him from having to send the same email '20 times a day'.
He uses the technology to answer simple inquiries and provide customers with answers and quotes immediately.
'Our business was on a bigger scale than some of our competitors, and some had eight (admin staff), whereas we had like two,' he said.
'On the outside, people are like 'whoa that could have been six people's jobs', but no one has the money to spend on these kinds of services, and wages are going up.'
He said the introduction of that technology hasn't led to any job cuts because he wasn't prepared to hire anyone to do such basic work in the first place.
'The thing with me is that I didn't have money to pay staff to do that so stuff. So I was just doing that as an owner-operator, and it was just me doing an extra four hours of work a day,' he said.
Mr Priestley said once he saw how much AI helped his own business, he realised other small and medium-sized businesses could benefit from consulting services to learn how to use AI and overcome their fears around the technology.
Now he consults with small businesses and helps them bring in basic automated processes for things like tracking parcels and answering general inquiries.
'It isn't about taking jobs. The businesses we work with can't afford six staff, they're not employing staff anyway,' he argued.
'It is more the workload is too big and people are doing massive days.'
Mr Priestley said he understands 'people are worried' about threats to their jobs, but that isn't what he sees developments in AI leading to.
'We've worked with hundreds of businesses now. It is just about making people's lives easier and more manageable,' he said.
Giving an example of how he would work with a building company, Mr Priestley said he might collaborate with them to develop an automatic reply system for general inquiries, so the company could focus on building houses rather than replying to emails.
The AI expert said he doesn't come into businesses and help them 'sack everyone' but the tools he adds to the workplace help people become more productive.
'People are just heaps more productive now. You're not going to lose your job if you're more productive,' he said.
Mr Priestley said the demand for his AI business has already outpaced his events space because, at the end of the day, paying for shirtless firefighters isn't an essential.
'We've just hit the sweet spot,' he said.
'What we sort of found is everyone's heard of AI and there's no business that can't benefit from it. Events are fun, but it is discretionary spending.'
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"It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. 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He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. 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The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. 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Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA The United Kingdom has underscored its commitment to AUKUS after revealing it will sign a new 50-year treaty with Australia, amid questions over US involvement in the trilateral security pact. The treaty will be inked when Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles host their UK counterparts David Lammy and John Healey in Sydney on Friday for regular Australia-UK ministerial meetings, according to British news agency PA. "This historic treaty confirms our AUKUS commitment for the next half century," UK Defence Secretary John Healey said. While the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership involves the US, UK and Australia, the treaty is between the latter two nations, as a Pentagon review into the agreement threatens America's future participation. Australia and the UK are expected to lay out the bilateral aspects of the agreement and explore ways the two countries can work together over the next half-century. In a joint statement, Mr Marles and Senator Wong said the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations, or AUKMIN, were critical to the two nations' shared interests. "We take the world as it is - but together, we are working to shape it for the better," Senator Wong said. Under the $368 billion AUKUS program, Australia will buy at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the early 2030s. A new class of nuclear submarines will be built in Adelaide and delivered in the 2040s. The US had promised to sell Australia nuclear-powered attack submarines under the AUKUS agreement, but President Donald Trump's administration has launched a review into the deal to examine whether it aligns with his "America first" agenda. Defence analysts believe a likely outcome of the US review will be a request for more money from Australia to support its submarine industrial base. The Australian government has said it remains confident in the nuclear-submarine deal being delivered. The UK has fast become one of Australia's most important defence allies amid turmoil under the Trump administration, a security analyst says. Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Alex Bristow said holding ministerial meetings on a six-monthly cycle, rather than the traditional annual timeline, highlights strengthened ties between the two nations. "The tempo of it increasing, I think, is a signal that Britain is moving into an elite category," he told AAP. The UK was probably third behind Japan and the US in terms of how strategically significant the defence relationship was to Australia, Dr Bristow said. Meanwhile, the UK's Carrier Strike Group, led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales, arrived in Darwin on Wednesday in the midst of the Talisman Sabre multi-nation military exercises being hosted by Australia. It's the first UK carrier strike group to visit Australia since 1997. The international task group includes five core ships, 24 jets and 17 helicopters, centred on the flagship aircraft carrier. On Sunday, Mr Marles and Senator Wong will join their counterparts in Darwin to observe the UK Carrier Strike Group in action at Talisman Sabre. UK High Commissioner to Australia Sarah MacIntosh said the arrival of the strike group was a demonstration of commitment to the region and the strong relationship with Canberra. "This is an anchor relationship in a contested world," she said. Dr Bristow said Australia should be welcoming carrier strike groups from European countries. He said NATO had identified China as a threat to its interests as Beijing continues to collaborate with Russia and North Korea. "It's entirely in the interests of European allies in NATO to be working with Indo-Pacific allies," Dr Bristow said. with PA
