The AI wave has crashed, and we're now swimming through the detritus.

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Some of it's golden, like the time saved and the small, everyday tasks quietly taken off our plates. Some of it is less comfortable, like the very real fear of job losses as an increasing number of workplace tasks are being automated.

Atlassian has cut about 10 per cent of its workforce, while Salesforce and Amazon are reducing roles as they double down on AI.

While this is unfortunate collateral damage in the AI revolution, there's no putting this genie back in the bottle. We're simply not returning to a world without it, so our focus has to turn to what happens when our jobs change, and how we can adapt.

If you zoom in on most roles, a surprising amount of time isn't spent doing the job itself, but chasing information, digging through documents, sitting across multiple systems, and asking the same internal questions again and again.

This is particularly true in the Australian Public Service (APS), where work often spans multiple systems, legacy platforms and policy frameworks. For many APS and state government employees, the challenge lies in navigating the layers around the work.

For a policy officer, that can look like pulling together a briefing from multiple sources, cross-checking past decisions, and aligning with existing frameworks before a recommendation can even take shape. None of it is especially complex on its own, but the compound effect is time-consuming and mentally draining.

The good thing is AI is very good at taking on these tasks. In a public sector context, AI can summarise long policy documents into a digestible format and pool insights from across departments. This means the starting point for drafting documents can be reached a lot quicker and easier, without removing any of the rigour.

As we've experienced in my small tech start-up team, AI-enabled tools can surface company knowledge instantly, pull together context from past decisions, and give people a starting point instead of a blank page. This assists a lot with training new hires and reminding existing staff of past decisions, rather than drawing them away from their work to solve the same puzzles and answer the same questions.

The same principles are being applied inside government teams and agencies, where the opportunity is less about speed for its own sake and more about giving time back to focus on policy, service delivery and decision-making.

This shift is already well under way. The benefits of AI among government employees has long been documented, not only in terms of speed but how the technologies translate efficiency into meaningful outcomes. In an Australian Government AI trial, 69 per cent of workers agreed the technology improved the speed at which they could complete tasks and 61 per cent said it improved their work's quality. Almost half of respondents reallocated their time towards mentoring and building culture, strategic planning, engaging with stakeholders and enhancing products.

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In the two-and-a-half years since this study was done, AI has only expanded in functionality, scope and potential for benefits. The rollout of GovAI Chat, for example, has shown how an external tool has been embedded into processes.

Further, the dedicated AI plan to improve services for Australians, which includes the mandated appointment of chief AI officers in every Australian Public Service agency, shows a preference for these technologies from within, and indicates growing sophistication on the horizon.

There's also a preference from the outside, with recruiters arguing that AI and related digital skills are needed for public service employment.

AI as an agent of growth

Both public and private sector organisations need to reframe AI as a growth lever. Teams that become more efficient don't always shrink, they often expand, because they are empowered to do more.

Indeed, according to the World Economic Forum, while 92 million jobs are expected to be displaced by 2030, 170 million new roles are projected to be created.

We've seen similar transformations happen before. The rise of Google largely made encyclopaedias obsolete and transformed how we access information, but it also created entirely new industries. SEO specialists, digital marketers, app developers and cloud architects are now integral to the modern economy, and didn't exist in the same way before.

But this new world does require a shift in mindset. Those who ignore AI will fall behind, and those that use it only to cut costs will miss the point. The real opportunity lies in using it to take pressure off teams while continuing to invest in the parts of the business that drive outcomes, both immediate and longer term, whether that's in fast-moving private businesses or in large, complex public sector organisations.

The companies that get this right will be the ones where people spend less time on the work that drains them, and more time on the work that moves the business forward.

The real shift isn't jobs disappearing, it's how work gets done. And for many people, particularly in the public service, that shift could mean less time navigating systems and more time applying judgment where it actually matters.

Jake Dimarco is a passionate tech nerd who became one of Apple's youngest Australian recruits before turning his attention to fixing the confusing process of booking a venue for his own engagement party. That idea grew into Sydney-based startup VenueNow, Australia's most user-friendly, longest-running venue finding platform, which uses AI-driven technology to take the complication out of finding and booking venues. It's been trusted by global leaders like Amazon, Google and L'Oréal, and backed by top entrepreneurs including Adam Schwab (Luxury Escapes) and Ben Thompson (Employment Hero).

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