Adoption of generative AI could unlock billions for Australia: TCA

The Australian economy could unlock tens of billions of dollars by 2030, if it accelerates the adoption of generative AI, according to the Tech Council of Australia (TCA).

The report, launched in collaboration with Microsoft showed that generative AI could contribute close to $115 billion a year to Australia’s economy by 2030 through creating new industries and improving current ones.

How much of this potential value is captured depends on the pace at which GAI is adopted across all industries and how well workers are supported to transition to other tasks, the report noted.

Kate Pounder, CEO of the TCA said the report highlights the "far-reaching potential" of generative AI across Australia’s economy.

“In this time of high inflation and low productivity growth, our economy needs a productivity shot in the arm. Emerging technologies like generative AI are going to be a big part of the solution,” she said.

“The report shows the enormous potential for generative AI to catalyse growth and innovation across a wide range of sectors, shaping a prosperous future for our nation.”

The report highlighted that industry and government are at a critical juncture in generative AI adoption, with deeper collaboration needed for Australia to capture the economic benefits of this technology and become a global leader in generative AI.

Leveraging Australia’s comparative advantages in digital technology is key to spurring this collaboration. They include a large and highly skilled tech workforce, strong investment in digital infrastructure and a high level of cloud computing adoption.

“Making the most of this opportunity will require a collaborative effort across government and industry, particularly to upskill our workforce, provide regulatory clarity and drive uptake of responsible AI practices," Pounder said. 

The report estimates that in the slow-paced adoption scenario, generative AI could contribute $45 billion annually to the Australian economy by 2030.

Most of these gains ($30 billion to $80 billion) would result from increases in workforce productivity through the automation of routine tasks, according to the report.

The augmentation of tasks using generative AI as a ‘copilot’ is expected to deliver between $10 billion and $25 billion in economic value.

The report noted that generative AI has the potential to automate and augment 44 percent of Australian workers’ task hours at its current level of capability. This would enable workers to focus their time on higher value-adding tasks and increase the quality of their output.

New products and services created using generative AI will power new jobs and businesses, collectively contributing between $5 billion and $10 billion to Australia’s economy, according to the report.

Pounder added, “However, Australia must ensure swift and responsible adoption of generative AI to fully capture the depth and breadth of this opportunity.”

The report identified four key sectors of the Australian economy that are poised to benefit from generative AI: healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and professional and financial services.

For example, generative AI can enhance the quality and accessibility of healthcare by reducing administrative tasks, which allows more one-on-one patient care.

It can also improve the personalisation of healthcare by being embedded in wearable devices, as well as support the transition towards more proactive models of care by enabling earlier and scalable diagnoses.