Microsoft predicts Australian boom in digital future

Microsoft says our fear of robots taking jobs is unfounded; as digital technology spreads, Australia will enjoy economic growth.

Microsoft Australia chief executive Steven Worrall.

The local head of Microsoft says the prospect of mass job losses from technology has been highly exaggerated, as the US computing giant releases research pointing to a boom in economic growth in Australia as digital technology spreads.

Steven Worrall, chief executive of Microsoft Australia, said claims that about 45 per cent of jobs would be lost or severely disrupted as technology developed were about double the likely level, stressing change so far had occurred alongside strong jobs growth.

“We think a more reasonable figure for the share of jobs likely to be significantly impacted is somewhere in the 20 per cent range, not the high-40s,” Mr Worrall said, referring to a widely cited 2013 Oxford University study that projected almost half of US jobs would be replaced by robots over 20 years.

“The really important message here is about creating new jobs and getting the transformation right, not about jobs being displaced.”

Mr Worrall pointed out that jobs growth had been very strong in Australia recently.

“Australia is clearly on the digital transformation fast track,” he said. “Within four years we expect to see an additional $45 billion on GDP derived from digital products and services.’’

Based on a survey of more than 1500 businesses in the Asia Pacific region, including 100 in Australia, the study found 17 per cent of jobs would avoid digital disruption.

It found 29 per cent of jobs would be “outsourced, automated or made redundant”, 30 per cent would be “retrained and upskilled”, and 24 per cent would be “new roles created due to digital transformation investments”.

Businesses could expect higher profit margins, greater productivity and improved scope to cut costs, it also concluded. “What is encouraging is that 66 per cent of respondents are confident their young professionals already have future-ready skills that will help them transition to new roles,” Mr Worrall said.

Within three years digital technology will add about 0.5 of a percentage point to Australia’s annual economic growth rate (an approximate 20 per cent increase), and create “more higher value jobs”, “safer and more efficient cities”, according to a new study released today, undertaken by Microsoft and consulting firm IDC.

Mr Worrall said Microsoft was hiring locally and increasing investment in Australia regardless of the Turnbull government’s plans to cut the corporate tax rate.

The US firm has announced a spate of Australian investments recently, including a quantum computing partnership with Sydney University, and construction of two “data centres” in Canberra this year, to add to those in Sydney and Melbourne.