Millions of jobs on the line: the impact of AI

The Records and Information Management Practitioners Alliance (RIMPA), which represents records and information management practitioners worldwide, is sounding the alarm as the rise of AI casts an uncertain future and puts jobs at risk.

The association says these professionals are more than the backbone of private sector organisations — they also support the machinery of government as professionals who collect, document, protect, search and retrieve information assets to support activities like Parliamentary Questions on Notice, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and in the day-to-day operations of public sector agencies.

RIMPA suggests that the rise of commercial AI programs is putting the future of this workforce at risk. According to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2023, 26 million fewer record-keeping and administrative roles are predicted by 2027. The impact will be far reaching and puts many Australian jobs — private and public — at risk.

In the Queensland public sector alone, (according to its March 2023 workforce profile) there are 246,309 full-time equivalents, spanning 26 agencies and nine other entities including Legal Aid Queensland. The key to protecting these jobs into the future is the successful adoption of new technologies, and the continued development of a highly skilled records and information management workforce, according RIMPA Global CEO Anne Cornish.

“We wish to become innovators in propelling reskilling, upskilling and developing skills initiatives for the sustainability of our members and our industry,” Cornish said.

“A collaboration between industry and government will be paramount to protect these roles into the future and ensure that records and information remains a viable industry and career path for Australians.”

This will be a key topic for discussion at the upcoming RIMPA Global Live Convention, 3–6 October 2023 on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The Jobs of the Future discussion is scheduled for 5 October and will include keynotes from Honourable Leeanne Enoch MP, Minister for Treaty, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Minister for Communities and Minister for the Arts.

For further information, visit the website.

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