The AI revolution is very much underway in workforces around the world.

Indeed, it appears to be the first “efficiency” tool that not only allows jobs to be slashed, but also gives world leaders the chance to create ugly, surreal visions of post-ethnic cleansing zones. I mean, talk about efficiency. And of course, as with every measure in human history that has decimated whole sectors of employment, there are absolutely no negative consequences should brace ourselves for, none whatsoever.

As the artificial intelligence revolution crested on the horizon, we were assured that it would “complement” human roles rather than replace them, and that our primary job threat is not AI, but other humans who are better at utilising it. To this day, we are told the fears of huge job losses are a myth.

So here’s a little breakdown of what’s happened, just in Australia, over the past couple of years.

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Jobs Telstra cut last year to “improve productivity”, but which it promised were unrelated to its use of AI technology: 2,800

Amount Telstra, announced it was spending on AI capabilities across the company, through a new joint venture with consultant Accenture: $700 million

Jobs Telstra predicts it will cut, mostly by the end of the year, which it also says are not a result of AI adoption: 550

The equivalent jobs lost under the Victorian state government’s estimated $3.3 billion savings as part of its “AI efficiency push”: Up to 1,220

Jobs that Microsoft has terminated to cut costs “at a time when it is heavily investing in AI”: 9,100 (an estimated 120 being Australia-based)

Jobs cut by Westpac while “investing heavily in artificial intelligence”: 1,500

Employees let go by Canva “nine months after telling them to embrace generative artificial intelligence tools”: 10 of its 12 technical writers 

Employees to be cut by Commonwealth Bank as it “rolls out technology like artificial intelligence”: 83

Portion of entry-level white collar jobs to be eliminated in the next five years, according to Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic: 50%

Potential unemployment rate after that process, according to Amodei: 10-20%

Number of jobs the World Economic Forum predicts will be created by AI in the next five years: 69 million

Number of jobs the World Economic Forum predicts will be eradicated by AI in the next five years: 83 million

Update: Telstra denies that the job cuts are on account of its adoption of AI. The piece has been updated to reflect that.

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