‘Redeploying': Reason AI fear a myth
Education behemoth Pearson has analysed the work of Australian software developers, computer systems analysts and network architects, finding these workers will save between 4.5 to seven hours a week in five years' time with effective use of technology.
Pearson Asia Pacific executive Craig McFarlane told NewsWire that jobs needed to be 'redesigned'.
'We can't afford to keep chasing talent externally. The real opportunity lies in rethinking the structure of roles so we can unlock the capacity we already have,' he said.
'AI is creating space – time that we can reinvest in upskilling, creativity and innovation.'
The research modelled the future impact of 34 emerging technology types on 76,600 granular tasks. The five-year impact is based on the projected adoption rates in Australia's IT industry that are already under way. The researchers are confident AI advancements will allow IT workers to focus on higher-level, critical-thinking tasks. Credit: News Regional Media
Workers in five high-value tech roles saved between 4.5 and 7 hours a week, based on the analysis.
'That's nearly a day each week that can be reinvested into strategic, creative, or growth-focused work,' Mr McFarlane said.
'By starting the process of role redesign now, businesses can close skills gaps faster, improve retention and strengthen their competitiveness, all while preparing their workforce for the future.'
The researchers are confident the use of AI will not make these workers obsolete, instead just automate repetitive and routine tasks.
'The roles themselves remain intact; it's the nature of the work within them that evolves,' Mr McFarlane said.
'Businesses can free their people to focus on higher-value activities like strategic planning, innovation, and cross-functional collaboration.
'This is about redeploying talent, not replacing it, and the gains are significant. In some cases, we modelled that teams could double their output without adding headcount.'
While this study looked at tech roles, the researchers highlighted other industries making significant use of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation (RPA). Jobs and Skills Australia says fatalistic predictions about AI are overblown, but almost all occupations will be changed by AI. NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
Finance and banking are 'leading adopters' of AI and RPA, Mr McFarlane said. Healthcare companies are investing heavily in AI for diagnostics, patient systems, and data analytics.
Mining firms have long used automation for safety and efficiency and are now using AI for routine maintenance and further efficiencies.
Retail and logistics companies are using AI to forecast demand and manage warehouses and supply chains.
'In each of these sectors, the adoption of AI tools is creating opportunities to redesign roles and unlock hidden capacity within existing teams,' Mr McFarlane said.
Schools are another sector figuring out how to use generative AI.
St Mary MacKillop College in Melbourne's southwest has taken on the challenge of leading the wave for multiple reasons; AI has the potential to better teach kids, the tech can help teachers plan and assess, the software is getting better, and AI simply needs to be taught in safe, ethical and effective ways.
St Mary MacKillop digital learning co-ordinator Trent Wilson told NewsWire the school was using a small number of 'carefully selected' generative AI tools.
Students in years 7 to 10 are using an AI feedback tool for responses about what they have done well and how to improve. St Mary MacKillop digital learning co-ordinator Trent Wilson says AI can help staff and students. Supplied Credit: Supplied
The tool is called Education Perfect; some tasks that the students do and get feedback from are created by Education Perfect, some are created by the school.
Students in years 10 to 12 are using a research chatbot called Perplexity. The school is teaching the students how to speak to the bot, what constitutes safe and ethical use, and how to critically evaluate the bot's responses.
'Using an external tool with older students acknowledges their need for greater agency and prepares them for a future in which AI literacy is essential,' Mr Wilson said.
'This tool is not writing student work, rather guiding students on refining and editing their own ideas and writing.'
Throughout 2024, college staff did professional learning, academic reading and research and ran trials with select classes. In 2025, the school had its rules and principles ready to go.
MacKillop's AI use was grounded in critical thinking, ethical use and academic integrity, Mr Wilson said.
The college is not using AI for any counselling services.
'AI is an incredibly fast-moving technological phenomenon that has tremendous potential,' Mr Wilson said.
'Nowhere is the obligation to manage its risks, and unlock its potential, more vital than in education, where we help to shape the next generations.'
Shane Smith co-founded the Education Perfect tool being used at MacKillop.
He said the program gave teachers more time to focus on one-on-one support.
'In schools that have had time to trial AI, teachers report that it can also help identify learning gaps more quickly and make it easier to plan lessons that meet the needs of different learners,' Mr Smith said.
'These efficiencies are particularly valuable in high-demand classrooms. Any time saved, even if just minutes, can be reinvested directly into students.'
The tech developer is also confident advancements will not lead to job losses.
'No, we absolutely don't believe that AI will lead to job losses for teachers in Australia,' he told NewsWire.
'In fact, it will be key to help address teacher shortages by reducing workload and improving efficiency.
'AI is best seen as a tool to augment teacher effort and expertise. The human element of teaching – grounded in trust and mentorship – cannot be replicated by AI.'
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
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The alliance was on the line with Trump's tariff decisions on August 1. The consensus was Australia dodged a bullet, and life goes on. But this was no flesh wound. By dictating and unilaterally imposing the terms of trade between the US and Australia - affirming the "reciprocal tariffs" of 10 per cent imposed on Australia, plus the tariffs of 50 per cent on both steel and aluminium - Trump has trashed the historic US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Trump has not provided a good answer to the question of what he is doing to one of the US's strongest and most consistent allies. And there is more to come. The president will also place a tariff on US imports of Australian pharmaceuticals. There is also far more to come on the future of the US-Australia alliance. Media have been full of opinions on what the relationship between the two countries ought to look like. These interventions have assayed the crucial importance of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting personally with Trump; whether Washington was rattled by Albanese's visit to China, whether Australia should "fortify northern Australia into an allied military stronghold for the region"; and whether the relationship is being mismanaged. The best model for this conversation would be the economic roundtable Treasurer Jim Chalmers will host in Canberra this month. Its purpose, Albanese said, is to "build the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform". Why not apply the same process to the future of our foreign policy and alliance with the US? A similar roundtable, convened by the foreign minister and bringing together the smartest and most experienced people from across the political and foreign policy spectrum to discuss all these issues, would provide the best and most sincere guidance for the country. There are three bedrock truths that are unimpeachably clear since Trump reassumed power in the US. First, Australia has not changed; the US has changed. Albanese and his government has not changed its posture towards the US. Trump has profoundly changed America's posture towards Australia. Second, the US is no longer the leader of the free world, because the free world is no longer following America. The democracies with which the US has been allied since the end of the Second World War are no longer acting in concert with the US, but in reaction to what Trump is doing across the global landscape - from the Americas, to the Atlantic, Russia, the Middle East, China, the Indo-Pacific and Australia. Third, Trump has destroyed the economic and trading architecture erected after the Second World War to promote growth and prosperity. Nations engaging economically with the US are no longer trading partners but trading victims. The "deals" Trump boasts about are involuntary. Trump's imposition of tariffs even on countries with a trade deficit with the US shows that his trade policy is, at heart, the unilateral exercise of US political power to force concessions to US domination. What is under profound challenge today - 84 years after prime minister John Curtin turned to the US and 73 years after the ANZUS treaty came into effect - is whether the US under Trump is still aligned with the vision the two countries have shared for decades. Australians have serious doubts about the relationship. The latest polling by Resolve Political Monitor documented "a strong desire for the country to assert more independence from the United States amid Donald Trump's turbulent presidency". Fewer than 20 per cent of Australian voters believe Trump's election victory was good for Australia. Nearly half of voters believe it would be "a good thing" for Australia to act more independently of the US. 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Moreover, if the terms of whatever Trump is conjuring up with Putin to end the war with Ukraine are unacceptable to Ukraine and Europe, and Trump sides with Putin, a further sharp break by Australia with Trump is likely. The "soft power" wielded by Australia is also involved here. From the UN's inception, Australia has supported the architecture required to help secure peace, security, stability and the health and welfare of all peoples. But Trump has now withdrawn the US from UNESCO, the World Health Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, the Paris climate accords, the UN Human Rights Commission and others. He has terminated the USAID programs that delivered crucial health care and crisis relief. Medical studies project that millions of people will die as a result in the coming years. Australia uses that architecture to help change the world for the better. Trump is making that work much harder. Trump is repealing all US programs that combat global warming - the most important environmental issue of our times and the number-one existential security issue for Asia-Pacific nations. Australia shares their urgency. Since Trump's inauguration, AUKUS has consistently been viewed as a bellwether for the relationship. Australia's need for a modern submarine fleet is an existential issue for the country's defence capability. Will Trump, during the Pentagon's review of AUKUS, change its terms to be more favourable to the US? Is Australia spending enough on defence? Will the pace of submarine construction ensure Australia receives the subs in the 2030s? If not, are there better solutions than AUKUS? But the most important question is the most known unknown. What does Trump want from China? Trump has never outlined his endgame with President Xi Jinping. Yes, of course, the trade deal of the century. But at what price, particularly with respect to Taiwan? What are the consequences of all the scenarios and what does Australia need to do to be prepared? Trump is president and will continue to act with power and drama. Albanese will respond on behalf of Australia. That would be business as usual. But without the benefit of a considered national conversation about the future of the Australian-US alliance and what is in Australia's national interest, the current state of play does not rise to the challenges posed by Trump to Australia. US baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." That's where we are. Let's talk about it. Seven months after Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term as US president, we are facing the most important moment in Australia's foreign policy since the Iraq war. Australia needs to have a national conversation on the future of its alliance with the United States. The alliance was on the line with Trump's tariff decisions on August 1. The consensus was Australia dodged a bullet, and life goes on. But this was no flesh wound. By dictating and unilaterally imposing the terms of trade between the US and Australia - affirming the "reciprocal tariffs" of 10 per cent imposed on Australia, plus the tariffs of 50 per cent on both steel and aluminium - Trump has trashed the historic US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Trump has not provided a good answer to the question of what he is doing to one of the US's strongest and most consistent allies. And there is more to come. The president will also place a tariff on US imports of Australian pharmaceuticals. There is also far more to come on the future of the US-Australia alliance. Media have been full of opinions on what the relationship between the two countries ought to look like. These interventions have assayed the crucial importance of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting personally with Trump; whether Washington was rattled by Albanese's visit to China, whether Australia should "fortify northern Australia into an allied military stronghold for the region"; and whether the relationship is being mismanaged. The best model for this conversation would be the economic roundtable Treasurer Jim Chalmers will host in Canberra this month. Its purpose, Albanese said, is to "build the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform". Why not apply the same process to the future of our foreign policy and alliance with the US? A similar roundtable, convened by the foreign minister and bringing together the smartest and most experienced people from across the political and foreign policy spectrum to discuss all these issues, would provide the best and most sincere guidance for the country. There are three bedrock truths that are unimpeachably clear since Trump reassumed power in the US. First, Australia has not changed; the US has changed. Albanese and his government has not changed its posture towards the US. Trump has profoundly changed America's posture towards Australia. Second, the US is no longer the leader of the free world, because the free world is no longer following America. The democracies with which the US has been allied since the end of the Second World War are no longer acting in concert with the US, but in reaction to what Trump is doing across the global landscape - from the Americas, to the Atlantic, Russia, the Middle East, China, the Indo-Pacific and Australia. Third, Trump has destroyed the economic and trading architecture erected after the Second World War to promote growth and prosperity. Nations engaging economically with the US are no longer trading partners but trading victims. The "deals" Trump boasts about are involuntary. Trump's imposition of tariffs even on countries with a trade deficit with the US shows that his trade policy is, at heart, the unilateral exercise of US political power to force concessions to US domination. What is under profound challenge today - 84 years after prime minister John Curtin turned to the US and 73 years after the ANZUS treaty came into effect - is whether the US under Trump is still aligned with the vision the two countries have shared for decades. Australians have serious doubts about the relationship. The latest polling by Resolve Political Monitor documented "a strong desire for the country to assert more independence from the United States amid Donald Trump's turbulent presidency". Fewer than 20 per cent of Australian voters believe Trump's election victory was good for Australia. Nearly half of voters believe it would be "a good thing" for Australia to act more independently of the US. Pew Research reported in July that only 35 per cent of Australians believe the US is a top ally. Trump is driving away US allies. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said after winning office, "Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over." When the leaders of Japan and South Korea received Trump's insulting letters of demarche on trade, they each said the correspondence was "deeply regrettable", with Japan's prime minister adding, "extremely disrespectful". Trump has also precipitated a trade war with India. How effective can the Quad - established by the US, Japan, India and Australia to serve as a counterweight to China - be if three of its four members are victims of Trump's tariffs? Australia has also broken with Trump on recognition of Palestine - issues of the highest importance to the president. Moreover, if the terms of whatever Trump is conjuring up with Putin to end the war with Ukraine are unacceptable to Ukraine and Europe, and Trump sides with Putin, a further sharp break by Australia with Trump is likely. The "soft power" wielded by Australia is also involved here. From the UN's inception, Australia has supported the architecture required to help secure peace, security, stability and the health and welfare of all peoples. But Trump has now withdrawn the US from UNESCO, the World Health Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, the Paris climate accords, the UN Human Rights Commission and others. He has terminated the USAID programs that delivered crucial health care and crisis relief. Medical studies project that millions of people will die as a result in the coming years. Australia uses that architecture to help change the world for the better. Trump is making that work much harder. Trump is repealing all US programs that combat global warming - the most important environmental issue of our times and the number-one existential security issue for Asia-Pacific nations. Australia shares their urgency. Since Trump's inauguration, AUKUS has consistently been viewed as a bellwether for the relationship. Australia's need for a modern submarine fleet is an existential issue for the country's defence capability. Will Trump, during the Pentagon's review of AUKUS, change its terms to be more favourable to the US? Is Australia spending enough on defence? Will the pace of submarine construction ensure Australia receives the subs in the 2030s? If not, are there better solutions than AUKUS? But the most important question is the most known unknown. What does Trump want from China? Trump has never outlined his endgame with President Xi Jinping. Yes, of course, the trade deal of the century. But at what price, particularly with respect to Taiwan? What are the consequences of all the scenarios and what does Australia need to do to be prepared? Trump is president and will continue to act with power and drama. Albanese will respond on behalf of Australia. That would be business as usual. But without the benefit of a considered national conversation about the future of the Australian-US alliance and what is in Australia's national interest, the current state of play does not rise to the challenges posed by Trump to Australia. US baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." That's where we are. Let's talk about it. Seven months after Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second term as US president, we are facing the most important moment in Australia's foreign policy since the Iraq war. Australia needs to have a national conversation on the future of its alliance with the United States. The alliance was on the line with Trump's tariff decisions on August 1. The consensus was Australia dodged a bullet, and life goes on. But this was no flesh wound. By dictating and unilaterally imposing the terms of trade between the US and Australia - affirming the "reciprocal tariffs" of 10 per cent imposed on Australia, plus the tariffs of 50 per cent on both steel and aluminium - Trump has trashed the historic US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Trump has not provided a good answer to the question of what he is doing to one of the US's strongest and most consistent allies. And there is more to come. The president will also place a tariff on US imports of Australian pharmaceuticals. There is also far more to come on the future of the US-Australia alliance. Media have been full of opinions on what the relationship between the two countries ought to look like. These interventions have assayed the crucial importance of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting personally with Trump; whether Washington was rattled by Albanese's visit to China, whether Australia should "fortify northern Australia into an allied military stronghold for the region"; and whether the relationship is being mismanaged. The best model for this conversation would be the economic roundtable Treasurer Jim Chalmers will host in Canberra this month. Its purpose, Albanese said, is to "build the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform". Why not apply the same process to the future of our foreign policy and alliance with the US? A similar roundtable, convened by the foreign minister and bringing together the smartest and most experienced people from across the political and foreign policy spectrum to discuss all these issues, would provide the best and most sincere guidance for the country. There are three bedrock truths that are unimpeachably clear since Trump reassumed power in the US. First, Australia has not changed; the US has changed. Albanese and his government has not changed its posture towards the US. Trump has profoundly changed America's posture towards Australia. Second, the US is no longer the leader of the free world, because the free world is no longer following America. The democracies with which the US has been allied since the end of the Second World War are no longer acting in concert with the US, but in reaction to what Trump is doing across the global landscape - from the Americas, to the Atlantic, Russia, the Middle East, China, the Indo-Pacific and Australia. Third, Trump has destroyed the economic and trading architecture erected after the Second World War to promote growth and prosperity. Nations engaging economically with the US are no longer trading partners but trading victims. The "deals" Trump boasts about are involuntary. Trump's imposition of tariffs even on countries with a trade deficit with the US shows that his trade policy is, at heart, the unilateral exercise of US political power to force concessions to US domination. What is under profound challenge today - 84 years after prime minister John Curtin turned to the US and 73 years after the ANZUS treaty came into effect - is whether the US under Trump is still aligned with the vision the two countries have shared for decades. Australians have serious doubts about the relationship. The latest polling by Resolve Political Monitor documented "a strong desire for the country to assert more independence from the United States amid Donald Trump's turbulent presidency". Fewer than 20 per cent of Australian voters believe Trump's election victory was good for Australia. Nearly half of voters believe it would be "a good thing" for Australia to act more independently of the US. Pew Research reported in July that only 35 per cent of Australians believe the US is a top ally. Trump is driving away US allies. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said after winning office, "Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over." When the leaders of Japan and South Korea received Trump's insulting letters of demarche on trade, they each said the correspondence was "deeply regrettable", with Japan's prime minister adding, "extremely disrespectful". Trump has also precipitated a trade war with India. How effective can the Quad - established by the US, Japan, India and Australia to serve as a counterweight to China - be if three of its four members are victims of Trump's tariffs? Australia has also broken with Trump on recognition of Palestine - issues of the highest importance to the president. Moreover, if the terms of whatever Trump is conjuring up with Putin to end the war with Ukraine are unacceptable to Ukraine and Europe, and Trump sides with Putin, a further sharp break by Australia with Trump is likely. The "soft power" wielded by Australia is also involved here. From the UN's inception, Australia has supported the architecture required to help secure peace, security, stability and the health and welfare of all peoples. But Trump has now withdrawn the US from UNESCO, the World Health Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, the Paris climate accords, the UN Human Rights Commission and others. He has terminated the USAID programs that delivered crucial health care and crisis relief. Medical studies project that millions of people will die as a result in the coming years. Australia uses that architecture to help change the world for the better. Trump is making that work much harder. Trump is repealing all US programs that combat global warming - the most important environmental issue of our times and the number-one existential security issue for Asia-Pacific nations. Australia shares their urgency. Since Trump's inauguration, AUKUS has consistently been viewed as a bellwether for the relationship. Australia's need for a modern submarine fleet is an existential issue for the country's defence capability. Will Trump, during the Pentagon's review of AUKUS, change its terms to be more favourable to the US? Is Australia spending enough on defence? Will the pace of submarine construction ensure Australia receives the subs in the 2030s? If not, are there better solutions than AUKUS? But the most important question is the most known unknown. What does Trump want from China? Trump has never outlined his endgame with President Xi Jinping. Yes, of course, the trade deal of the century. But at what price, particularly with respect to Taiwan? What are the consequences of all the scenarios and what does Australia need to do to be prepared? Trump is president and will continue to act with power and drama. Albanese will respond on behalf of Australia. That would be business as usual. But without the benefit of a considered national conversation about the future of the Australian-US alliance and what is in Australia's national interest, the current state of play does not rise to the challenges posed by Trump to Australia. US baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." That's where we are. Let's talk about it.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Semi-automatic coffee machine strikes the perfect balance
Pod machines and fully automated coffee makers are great, but it's hard to beat the stuff extracted through beans that were freshly ground and tamped under a watchful eye in your own kitchen. Semi-automatic espresso machines have come a long way in recent years, with extra smarts helping them retain the benefits of a professionally made coffee without the risk that an untrained hand could create a caffeinated disaster. And Breville's Oracle Dual Boiler is the best I've used yet. The thing this machine gets so right is that it has all the capabilities of a commercial-level machine that a barista would use manually, but it also has the brains to operate itself. It knows how to avoid curdling soy milk, and when to tweak the grind. It will always hand you the reins if you think you know better, and can be operated almost entirely manually if you like. But while other machines I've used require you to have some training if you don't want weak coffee and 7-Eleven foam, the Oracle gets you good results without your needing to have all the rules for coffee-making memorised. You might even learn something from it. The booklet that comes with the Oracle is practically useless, which is not rare for appliances these days, although there is a comprehensive guide to regular maintenance that doubles as an ad for Breville's various cleaning solutions. In this case, it turned out a booklet wasn't needed because the big sharp touchscreen on the front of the Oracle does a great job of walking you through the set-up. There's a 2.3 litre water tank that loads in the back, but cleverly there's also a hatch at the top of the machine that leads down into it, so no need to move the machine constantly. When you do need to, there's a wheel you can lower so you don't mess up your bench. It's a compact but heavy unit, and it does look like a miniaturised version of a cafe espresso machine. It even has a spot on top to keep your cups, and they'll get quite warm when you turn it on. The machine connects to Wi-Fi and you can use an app to remotely power it on, which you will never do because it heats up and is ready to go in a minute and a half. Still, given there is a computer in there somewhere driving the machine, a Wi-Fi connection for updates seems sensible. Once it's all put together, assuming you've left the machine on default settings, the coffee-making process is simple. You choose a drink from the menu, and the screen shows up to three icons representing the steps you need to take. So for a long black, it shows the grinder (put the portafilter in and tap; the beans are ground and tamped), the group head for extracting coffee, and a jug for adding hot water. It's your choice whether to do water or coffee first, but it is a bit weird that Breville shows the water in third position when most Australian coffee snobs will tell you water first, then extract. This may all sound very standard, aside from the touchscreen, animated icons and gentle sound effects, but the real cleverness is behind the scenes. Not only does the Oracle grind out the perfect measure of coffee every time, but it pays attention to the extraction too. On most machines this is your job, and it's the hardest part to get used to if you're not trained in coffee. If the extraction is too quick the coffee will be weak, and if it's too long it will be bitter, with the solution being to tweak the grind coarser or finer. The required setting will change depending on the condition of your beans, and things like temperature and humidity, so tweaks are necessary from time to time to get the extraction into the ideal window of 25 to 30 seconds.
