DTA: AI “still fledgling and prone to disappointment”

The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) has found initial excitement around AI has made way for real-life work which so far is “fledgling and prone to disappointment.”

The DTA revealed its findings in its submission to the House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training which looks at changing workplace landscape due to digital transformations.

“While there is a high degree of hype surrounding the transformative use of AI, the real-world application to deliver core functions of business and government are still fledgling and prone to disappointment.

“This means that training and support for the application of AI in the workplace and the effective definition of responsibilities, accountabilities and supervision is required to reduce the risk of those staff using AI assistance productivity tools in a manner inconsistent with their organisation’s goals or values,” the government agency said.

The DTA did stated it sees value in the likes of AI as it can aid remote workers in keeping pace with organisational changes. 

“From the DTA’s own experience we can see that the use of integrated AI tools assists with productivity, especially for remote workers.

“These tools make it easier for remote workers to keep up to date on information distributed by people, teams, and across the organisation.

“After having online meetings, AI tools can also help by providing a transcript of the entire meeting conversation, as well as extracting specific, relevant information on topics of interest,” the report said.

DTA Copilot Trial

The report stated the DTA commenced work for its own six-month Australian Government pilot of Copilot for Microsoft 365 (Copilot Trial) in late 2023.

“This commenced in January 2024 with over 60 agencies participating. Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a generative AI technology that can be embedded into Microsoft 365 productivity tools (e.g. Microsoft Word).

“The conduct of the Copilot Trial is an outcome of the AI in Government Taskforce (AI Taskforce), co-led by DTA and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR).”

The agency said the AI Taskforce “will advise government of the full evaluation, outcomes and potential next steps for the trial in due course”.

Its submission said that while AI holds significant benefits for adoption, there is a “clear need to ensure its use meets community expectations and adequately considers risks and impacts”.

“A measured and pragmatic approach to the potential risks and harms that AI may pose is required to facilitate safe and responsible adoption.

It stated that AI policy settings will need to respond to change and embed best practices as they evolve to reduce negative consequences further while increasing opportunities.

“Adaptability will be a core element of future policy responses for using AI in government.