![\"Millie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575896_348_6c9956499c1fcaff5bc3ee06f2fcfa07b4485f924fdaa4ddb2bb54cddb882f66.png\")
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October 9, 2026 \u2014 11:35am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Dentist Sen Le says he is not afraid of losing his job to AI: a technology he has helped to develop, and one which he says can detect problems in a patient\u2019s mouth that most human dentists would miss.<\/p>\n \u201cThe human eye can only see about 40 shades of grey, but the AI can see about 64,000,\u201d he says. \u201cThat means it\u2019s able to see things that we can\u2019t: subtle changes in anatomy and subtle changes in disease. Often, it will find something that I didn\u2019t even notice was there.\u201d<\/p>\n While there is debate about the extent to which AI could destroy human jobs or create new ones, the technology is already well documented to be changing the nature of roles in various industries including administration, law and media.<\/p>\n But it is also being used \u2013 and developed \u2013 by people in more hands-on professions ranging from dentistry to run coaching and restaurant management, some of whom say AI is improving the services they offer to customers but will never replace them.<\/p>\n Giving diagnostics teeth<\/p>\n Le started working on software called Eyes of AI six years ago to save dentists time and help them make more consistent and accurate diagnoses.<\/p>\n \u201cDentists and dental professionals are very time poor,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s also a lot of variability in our diagnostics: if you go to five different dentists, you get five different diagnoses, and then the treatments they recommend could range from $300 up to $36,000.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sydney-based dentist, who also works in Canberra, has used the technology over the past three years with his patients and says it can identify issues ranging from defective fillings to infected abscesses and calcification \u2013 the build-up of excess calcium \u2013 in places not just isolated to the teeth.<\/p>\n The AI tool can work with as little information as a single X-ray to make basic findings, but can also consider other clinical information fed into it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll detect issues such as tooth decay early so that we can address it very conservatively rather than drilling into the patient,\u201d he says. \u201cI also use AI as a second set of eyes \u2013 like a spell check \u2013 to make sure that I haven\u2019t missed anything, especially if I\u2019m busy or running late.\u201d<\/p>\n Le and his team have been partnered with the CSIRO and the University of Sydney, and while tighter regulation has made the approval process less straightforward, he says the business is on the verge of getting the technology approved for release to other clinics around Australia.<\/p>\n AI can also enhance patients\u2019 understanding, Le says, helping them to take more ownership over their treatments.<\/p>\n \u201cOften, patients are just taking the dentist\u2019s word for what\u2019s there,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the colour overlays generated by the AI, and the things it flags, can help patients look after their oral health better.\u201d<\/p>\n While Le believes AI will increasingly play a supporting role in dentistry in years to come, he says it will not dampen demand for dentists.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very human thing to go into someone\u2019s mouth,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd at the end of the day, AI requires human oversight because it can\u2019t be held responsible for decisions. I don\u2019t believe it\u2019s possible for AI to replace dentists.\u201d<\/p>\n Running the numbers<\/p>\n Sydney-based trail and ultra-running coach Ash Daniels started experimenting with AI two years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like a new employee at first,\u201d he says. \u201cI had to check the output, but I gave it more and more tasks and built trust over time. Now, it\u2019s like having an assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n While apps are increasingly being used to generate training plans for athletes, Daniels says some of them can lead to people overtraining and getting injured.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat they lack is a feedback loop,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are purely objective. AI can feed back some data, but it lacks empathy, and if you\u2019ve had a real tough week at work, or your kids haven\u2019t slept, AI can\u2019t adapt to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniels says he is not worried about AI taking his job, and that he has so far seen no drop-off in the number of people he coaches.<\/p>\n \u201cHuge amounts of people are coming into the sport and looking for guidance,\u201d he says. \u201cThey want to speak to me, not a machine.\u201d<\/p>\n AI is useful for doing repetitive administrative work, Daniels says, as well as analysing, identifying patterns, and concisely presenting findings from huge amounts of data.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore, I would have to trawl my way through data files from running watches and other digital devices,\u201d he says. \u201cNow, I can do that more quickly, and AI will pump it out into a digestible PDF format people can easily understand rather than a spreadsheet with a load of data. It also means I\u2019m more available to chat through things with athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n But Daniels says coaching is about more than just generating a plan, or analysing data, and that things such as lived experience and shared moments cannot be substituted by AI.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mantra is that a plan will get you to the start line, but I\u2019ll be waiting for you at the finish line,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re never going to get that from a machine.\u201d<\/p>\n Serving up<\/p>\n AJ Eserjose, co-owner of Charcoal & Crisp in the Sydney suburb of Crows Nest, says AI is helping businesses like his save time on tasks such as rostering and preparing marketing.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our time is consumed by repetitive admin work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur interest is not in replacing people, but considering how to give staff better tools so they can spend less time on administrative work, and more time on the floor, coaching staff, and observing.\u201d<\/p>\n Eserjose says the technology has not been perfect, especially early on, but that it has helped the business to make productivity improvements.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest benefit has been faster decision making,\u201d he says. \u201cIt helps us organise information, assist customers more quickly, and notice patterns in things such as wastage management earlier instead of only reacting when something goes wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Eserjose says AI can also help to analyse sales and Google reviews, things the business can then look at to improve its food and service.<\/p>\n These types of benefits are especially useful, he says, in an environment and industry where labour, rent and operating costs are high but customers expect consistency, quality and good service.<\/p>\n However, Eserjose says AI does not reduce the need for his restaurant to have good staff.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t replace people, especially in our industry,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople run the restaurant. AI helps people run it better.\u201d<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close![\"Dentist](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575898_97_0594928dffe6d1a95c607c22507a980b66318a67.jpeg\")
Dentist Sen Le has developed AI technologies that can help diagnose dental conditions.Thomas Wielecki<\/p>\n![\"Sen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575899_119_8cdfa0da0d1577e1cf5b0c19bcf63bf7a72b904d.jpeg\")
Sen Le says AI can help patients to better understand their conditions.Thomas Wielecki<\/p>\n![\"Sydney-based](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575901_530_119fc907cc292ac899ecba48a41cbe7f1cbf3966ce680f1cf3c5857977dd0bf1.jpeg\")
Sydney-based running coach Ash Daniels says his clients would rather work with him than any machine.Yoshi Muroi<\/p>\n![\"Daniels](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575903_858_92560086fc7c287c1f4acfb00b0556685ea079e3412718447d03f84db52f856c.jpeg\")
Daniels does prefer using AI tools when it comes to certain tasks. Yoshi Muroi<\/p>\n![\"Charcoal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575904_829_f1429b15c610d8e12a1e569d7925544e72aea11b.jpeg\")
Charcoal and Crisp employee Eggy Fajardo now uses AI to help him with the weekly rosters. Steven Siewert<\/p>\n![\"Millie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791575905_407_6c9956499c1fcaff5bc3ee06f2fcfa07b4485f924fdaa4ddb2bb54cddb882f66.png\")
Millie Muroi<\/a> is the economics writer at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age covering workplace and economics. She was formerly an economics correspondent based in Canberra\u2019s Press Gallery and the banking writer based in Sydney.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 9, 2026 \u2014 11:35am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-922212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}