But most working members of Generation Z (people born from 1997 to 2010) are not allowing AI concerns to stop them using the technology, with most given access to the tools by their employers and almost all using them weekly.
Microsoft Australia released the findings today in a survey designed to gauge opinions of generative AI technology from the “first AI-fluent generation”.
The findings come as debate over AI regulations continues in Australia, with the Productivity Commission arguing restrictions should be a “last resort” while the government completes a “gap analysis” of laws that could apply to it.
The AI study, called Breaking the Mold and prepared by YouGov, surveyed more than 575 young professionals, most of them aged between 18 and 28.
It found most Gen Z workers (71%) were worried AI could shrink the number of graduate roles offered in Australia, and that figure was higher (88%) among those in the finance industry where the technology had entered common use.
Almost half of workers surveyed were also concerned they did not learn as deeply as they did before they used AI, and most (64%) preferred to ask a manager for help over technology.
Despite these issues, 97% of young workers given access to AI tools used them at least weekly, and 88% said the technology let them spend less time performing repetitive tasks.
The results proved workers held mixed feelings about generative AI technology, Microsoft Australia and New Zealand national technology officer Sarah Carney said.
“There is opportunity and anxiety existing side by side,” she told AAP.
“They’re experiencing this dualism, which is concern about the jobs that will exist… but also this optimism about how they can use the tools.”
More than three in four young workers also said AI had helped them to communicate professionally, and that senior leaders had asked for their input into AI projects.
Introducing rules and talking openly about the technology would become increasingly important, Ms Carney said, to encourage experimentation but also scrutiny.
“We haven’t made it culturally normal to use AI at work yet – there is still a sense of guilt or cheating,” she said.
“As a leader, making sure you’re creating a space where people can share ideas and share how they used it is really important.”
Kiara Morris, who works as a lawyer in MinterEllison’s graduate program, said AI tools were saving her “about an hour or two a day” by summarising email messages and helping to “stress-test” and make suggestions to court briefs and client advice.
“As lawyers, we sometimes have to sift through hundreds if not thousands of cases.”
“Using AI … to try and really just confine those numbers down, it just saves us a lot of time.”
Guidelines for the use of AI tools had been issued by the firm, Ms Morris said, and its output was fact-checked to ensure accuracy.
The federal government issued voluntary AI guidelines in 2024 but has yet to regulate high-risk uses of the technology.
