Australians Embrace AI at Home, Seek Workplace Guidelines

Using AI at home is improving employees' trust in adopting the technology at work, a study shows. Photo: Rounak Amini/AAP PHOTOS Most Australian workers are honing artificial intelligence skills on their own time but more access, greater control and strict rules might be needed to boost its adoption in workplaces. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading Holiday Offer All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All other in your area Software firm Salesforce on Tuesday released the findings from a study of more than 2000 workers which also found personal AI use significantly boosted employees' trust in the technology. The research comes days after Microsoft signed an agreement with the Australian Council of Trade Unions over the design of AI tools and rules, and a month after the government released a National AI Plan to encourage investment in the technology. Kevin Doyle from Salesforce says 2026 is the year AI "needs to graduate and become available". (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS) The Salesforce study, conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2132 knowledge workers in Australia and New Zealand across fields including law, finance, marketing, technology, research and consulting. More than four in every five workers (86 per cent) said they used AI in their personal lives, and most (71 per cent) said their experiences at home had improved their trust in AI at work. Many knowledge workers had also experimented with AI agents that performed several tasks (76 per cent), the study found, and most expected the technology to positively affect their work within two years. Workers' experience with AI tools did not mean they would place blind trust in its outcomes, Salesforce regional vice-president Kevin Doyle said, but it made them more likely to understand the software's limitations. "The research tells us right now for knowledge workers, the best experience they're having with AI is in their personal lives and they're ready for their professional life to catch up," he told AAP. "Personal experimentation is boosting their confidence because when they do it in their personal lives ... they can test things. If it doesn't work, they understand why (and) they understand the hallucinations." While personal AI use boosted confidence, almost half of the workers surveyed said they wanted greater transparency and control of AI tools in the workplace (47 per cent) and strict rules about security and privacy (43 per cent). More than four in five of the 2132 workers surveyed said they used AI in their personal lives. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS) "There are more guardrails required and knowledge workers told us that they're looking to leadership to put them in place and put them in place now," Mr Doyle said. 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