Australians attitudes towards AI

New research from McCrindle highlights a duality of attitude towards AI.

• 70% of Australians view AI as a threat more than a tool in society.
• AI is trusted for advice on lower risk activities.
• Entry-level postings have fallen by 29% since early 2024.
• 46% of Australians are concerned that relying on AI for basic tasks hinders the development of future leaders.
• Gen Y is leading the use of AI, 53% of Gen Y workers report unlocking higher productivity by integrating AI into their work.

AI is trusted for advice on lower risk activities

Three in five Australians turn to AI for travel advice (61%) or personal recommendations (58%). Australians are less likely to trust AI to give financial (41%) or health advice (39%).

Australians overall are less likely to trust AI to give financial advice, Gen Z, however, is open to it. More than half of Gen Z trust AI to give financial advice, making them 2.7 times more likely than Baby Boomers to trust AI in this area (57% cf. 21%).

Erosion of the early career landscape 

The  integration of AI is accelerating disruption across entry-level employment, with junior job postings dropping 29% since January 2024. As organisations automate routine tasks typically assigned to junior staff, 45% of Australians express concern over shrinking entry-level career opportunities.

This creates a severe long-term risk for business sustainability: junior roles serve as the essential training grounds for future experts. Without active investment in developing early-career talent today, organisations face a potential leadership gap when current executives retire.

“Junior roles are the training grounds for tomorrow’s experts. If every organisation stops building expertise now, there will be a major gap in a decade.” – McCrindle

Workflow redesign and the human advantage

Despite widespread workforce anxiety, with 58% nervous about job replacement,  younger workers are actively reshaping how work gets done. Gen Y is leading this shift, with 46% frequently redesigning their workflows using AI and 53% reporting measurable efficiency gains.

Greater concern around environmental impact of data centres than maintaining pace with global AI developments

Countries and businesses are wanting to make sure they are positioning themselves well to navigate the next commercial and industrial revolution. While this global race is going on, Australians focus is closer to home. Only one in five Australians (22%) are extremely or very concerned that Australia isn’t keeping pace with global AI development. Two in five (39%), however, are concerned about the environmental impact of AI data centres in their local area.