Amanda Rose: How to beat the bots and artificial intelligence and keep your job

Mass layoffs overseas and a rise in artificial intelligence in the workplace has some Aussie workers feeling nervous.

I’m sensing Australian workers are feeling rattled as big foreign companies start laying off tens of thousands of people at the same time as artificial intelligence is on the rise.

Twitter, Meta, eBay and Microsoft have all announced massive staff cuts out of the US as the companies chase efficiencies, and workers fear cuts will hit our shores next.

Last year’s misguided confidence from workers demanding more pay and better conditions is gone.

So how can you future-proof your role and prove you’ll be better than a bot that won’t ask for a payrise, talk back or want holidays?

A Starship Technologies robotic vehicle delivers groceries to customers in Manchester, England last week. Picture: Getty Images

Embrace it. Prove your relevance by understanding new technology and how it can make you more efficient.

Instead of fearing a bot will take your role, ask yourself if you can use the technology to do your job better and double or triple your productivity.

A good example is copywriting and ChatGPT, which uses AI to pull information from the web and turn it into structured word formats such as articles, speeches, essays or poems.

Use it as a tool to better your performance, find data and intelligence, compile mundane lists and reports – and inspire ideas.

Knowing how to treat people with empathy and not like numbers will always require a human workforce. Picture: Annette Dew

A bot can’t think like you and it can’t find solutions to problems in a business where you have experience, knowledge and awareness of past issues.

One big advantage humans have is empathy.

Bots don’t care about people you work with or for.

They will see customers as numbers, not humans – and any company that relies solely on that will quickly find a disconnect between their business and their customers.

* Amanda Rose is the founder of Small Business Women Australia, a key mentor and career advisor. Visit amandarose.com.au