The explosive rise of AI agents is here. Will they replace humans?

AI agents could replace routine jobs, but experts aren’t sold that they will remove humans from the workforce altogether.

Could AI agents change the game and replace humans? Pic: Getty Images

• What are AI agents?

• Could they change the game and replace humans?

• Decidr sets the pace in Australia with smarter, unified AI

It’s 2025. You walk into the office, grab your coffee, and before you even sit down, your emails have already been processed, your meetings scheduled, and the onboarding for the new client you’re meeting is all set.

This isn’t a futuristic sci-fi fantasy; this is what’s happening now – and it’s about to explode.

We’re talking about AI agents, the next big thing that’s set to overhaul how we work and think about productivity.

Even Nvidia’s Jensen Huang dedicated a good chunk of his keynote to AI agents at the CES event earlier this month, underscoring how critical this shift is.

But before we dive into it, let’s take a step back and look at the landscape of AI as it stands.

If you're tuned in to what’s been happening, you’ve probably heard of chatbots or copilots that can help you with tasks like drafting emails or summarising reports.

But if that’s where your AI understanding stops, brace yourself, because AI agents are about to take over in ways you can’t imagine.

"This is really the rise of digital labour." That's Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, calling it as he sees it.

And he's not alone. OpenAI's Sam Altman is all-in too, referring to agents as “the next giant breakthrough”.

This follows news this week that Chinese firms DeepSeek and Alibaba are flipping the script on AI, making learning models way cheaper to run.

This could supercharge the growth of AI agents and productivity tools even faster than expected.

Now Read: China's DeepSeek just blew up the AI game. Should investors freak out?

What exactly are AI agents?

An AI agent is basically like a robot brain that can make decisions and take action without needing constant human control.

Unlike chatbots like ChatGPT, which mainly create text, AI agents can act on a task.

These AI agents are built on a similar technology as chatbots but with a key difference: they do things, not just talk. They can analyse real-time situations and react without being told exactly what to do at every step.

Uri Gal, Professor of Business Information Systems at the University of Sydney, told Stockhead that over the next few years, AI systems will become more deeply integrated into business operations.

"They will expand across diverse work domains and become increasingly autonomous, such that they can make decisions and accomplish tasks based on broad parameters without direct human intervention."

They're already gradually making an impact.

Right now, AI agents are working in different fields, like banking, where they catch fraud and handle trades.

In logistics, they’re sorting out stock and delivery routes. In factories, they’re keeping machines running smoothly. In healthcare, they’re booking appointments and refilling prescriptions.

And even in your car, Google’s AI agent can help you find places to eat and landmarks while you drive, all in real-time.

Companies such as Johnson & Johnson are using AI agents to optimise drug discovery, while eBay’s agents are writing code and creating marketing campaigns on their own.

At Deutsche Telekom, AI agents answer employee questions and even book vacations.

Can AI agents replace human workers?

Right now, experts unanimously say no. At least not yet.

Although AI agents can mimic human action, such as completing tasks and even fixing their own mistakes, they’re not ready to replace office workers just yet.

Professor Gal believes these tools will likely replace humans in areas that require creativity and design thinking, but which have lower stakes for reliability.

This includes tasks such as content generation, marketing, preliminary research, etc.

"However, in other areas AI will be used most effectively in collaboration with humans rather than a replacement to them," Gal said.

Australian company Decidr, owned by ASX-listed Live Verdure (ASX:LV1), also shares this view.

LV1's executive chairman, David Brudenell, believes AI agents should not replace humans. They’re not here to take over; they’re here to work alongside us, he said.

“We don’t see AI as a replacement for human workers; we see it as a tool that enhances their capabilities," he told Stockhead.

If done right, AI can handle the repetitive stuff, while we focus on what really matters.

But could AI agents achieve general intelligence?

This is a hotly contested issue.

Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, means that a system performs as well as, or better than, humans across a broad range of domains.

Think of the recent incarnation of generative AI. Systems like Claude or ChatGPT have a wide applicability that goes beyond specific tasks (e.g., play chess, give financial advice).

AI pundits and some executives claim that we are on the cusp of achieving AGI.

"Others, me included, are more sceptical," said Professor Gal.

"There are important ways in which they do not equal human capability such as generalising from data, contextual awareness, learning from experience, etc."

Professor Gal, however, doesn't think that there are fundamental physical obstacles that prevent us from achieving AGI.

"But I’m not sure that large language models are the way to get there.

"We’ve already exhausted the data we have available to us and some experts argue that this is a significant bottleneck, even if some companies have started creating synthetic data."

ASX stocks in this space

Live Verdure (ASX:LV1)

LV1's subsidiary, Decidr, aims to reshape the way small businesses access AI, offering scalable, affordable tools that automate everything from customer support to finance.

Powered by its “Hypervector architecture,” Decidr slashes the typical costs of custom AI, data normalisation and training, making advanced AI accessible for SMEs that couldn't afford it before.

David Brudenell, LV1's executive chairman, said Decidr isn’t just about the tech; it’s about the philosophy.

“We create a collaborative relationship between humans and AI, where each plays to their strengths.”

The platform uses a Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) model, ensuring AI aligns with business goals while empowering workers to focus on the high-level decision-making.

And while many AI tools are fragmented, solving isolated tasks, Decidr integrates everything – accounting, HR, CRM – into one platform.

“Most AI agents today are vertical solutions, focused on specific, isolated tasks,” said Brudenell.

By taking a horizontal approach, Decidr makes powerful AI accessible to businesses, levelling the playing field for SMEs.

Appen (ASX:APX)

Most of us have probably heard of Appen, a once ASX darling and a global company that helps businesses make their AI smarter and more effective.

Appen does this by providing high-quality data that AI systems need to learn and improve.

Think of it like teaching AI by showing it examples.

Appen works with companies in industries like technology, healthcare, and finance.

Its list of customers include a who’s who in the tech world, including: Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, Uber etc.

As one of the top players in the game, Appen delivers high-quality, custom datasets in every language and modality, whether it’s text, image, audio, or video.

Bigtincan (ASX:BTH)

Bigtincan aims to transform how sales teams operate, making it easier for them to engage with customers and track their performance.

The company's tech streamlines everything into one centralised platform, making it simple for sales teams to personalise content that will resonate with buyers.

It also provides analytics to highlight what’s working and what isn’t, allowing the team to focus on the most impactful materials.

In addition, it facilitates real-time buyer interactions across emails and online meetings, offering insights into how buyers are engaging and which opportunities to prioritise.

Bigtincan’s AI-powered tools, including GenieAI and AuthoringAI, also take it a step further by automating tasks and providing intelligent feedback on coaching and role-playing.

Adisyn (ASX:AI1)

AI agents, of course, would be nothing without the advanced chips that can power them.

Adisyn’s move into graphene-based semiconductor technology could be the key to unlocking all this.

The company's shares have been on huge run, with its stock up 500% in the past year.

Adisyn recently acquired 2D Generation (2DG), an Israeli leader in graphene chip manufacturing.

Graphene, with its super-conductive properties, has long been hailed as the future of semiconductors, but producing it at scale has been a challenge, until now.

2DG’s patented process grows graphene at temperatures below 300°C, a game-changer for the industry.

This low-temperature method keeps chips intact while integrating graphene seamlessly. “This low temperature is what sets us apart from everyone else,” says Arye Kohavi, 2DG’s CEO.

As chips shrink, heat becomes a major issue.

Graphene’s heat-conducting ability could replace copper in interconnects, solving overheating problems.

“If we want chips to keep getting faster, we need to solve the heat generation problem, and graphene can do that,” Kohavi adds.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Live Verdure and Adisyn are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as The explosive rise of AI agents is here. Will they replace humans?