Quality Work in a Digital Age
The Oz gubment has just committed millions to a new research centre to explore the impact of AI on the compliance economy (my words not theirs).
“Our focus: as Al and automation reshape workplaces, how do we ensure these changes actually improve job quality, productivity, and wellbeing?”
So I just asked chatGPT and old mate told me…
“An economy built on compliance labour, asset inflation, and mineral rents depends on a large, politically quiet white collar middle to keep demand, legitimacy, and voter consent intact. AI removes the labour premium from administration faster than replacement work appears, while leaving extraction capital intensive and labour light. That shrinks employment, compresses wages, and concentrates income, which then feeds back into weaker consumption, brittle politics, and policy paralysis. The likely response is denial and more rules rather than capability building, which accelerates drift, followed by economic and social collapse.”
By the way, that’s the name of the thing – the centre of excellence in Quality Work in a Digital Age. Right there, they have their answer even before they start. The next centre will probably focus on the effectiveness of research centres in the digital age.
Not to worry, just when it’s become clear that plan A is AI-fucked and there is no plan B, our quantum computing sector will come to the rescue.
offshore westerly 