Why automation will underpin a Future Made in Australia
As Australia heads toward the next federal election, the Albanese Government's Future Made in Australia policy will be key to the forthcoming election campaign.
The Future Made in Australia policy framework focuses on the government's commitment to growing industries that will contribute to the future development of Australia and the country's net zero transformation.
To achieve this, the policy will rely upon futuristic technology, including a direct investment in quantum computing. However, while the Australian government and private sector are highly focused on opportunities around new technologies such as quantum computing and Generative and Specialised artificial intelligence (AI) to enable the development of industries, the critical component that is missing is automation.
The role of automation in driving innovation
AI plays an important role in driving innovation through incorporating machine learning to adapt and make human-like decisions, however, automation plays an equally vital role in performing repetitive tasks, reducing manual human labour, and enhancing efficiencies and overall productivity. When AI and automation are combined, this broadens the scope for efficiency and productivity gains and lays the groundwork for new levels of innovation. More importantly, automation frees up employees so they can focus more on the strategy and creativity that is required for innovation to occur.
This is evidenced by a new UiPath survey of more than 1100 Australian knowledge workers that reveals, while Gen AI helped to improve productivity and employee engagement, the combination of Gen AI and automation together resulted in productivity gains for 42% of surveyed workers, improved accuracy of work for 36% of knowledge workers, better job satisfaction for 35% of these workers, improved work/life balance for 33% of those surveyed and reduced feelings of burnout for 30% of survey participants.
More specifically, 42% of Australian knowledge workers surveyed are using the time saved through automation on creative tasks, which often lead to innovation.
A linchpin of success for Australian industry
Already, industries such as manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, transport and even government that are at the core of realising the Future Made in Australia policy are finding AI-powered automation to be a linchpin of success.
In manufacturing, in particular, the combination of AI and automation can help the government achieve smarter, more advanced manufacturing solutions that support a net zero future for Australian manufacturers more quickly. An example of a company putting this into action is IKEA. To achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2030, the company has set requirements for the responsible adoption of robotics for automation and ethical handling of data and digital technologies.
AI-powered automation can also revolutionise healthcare by freeing up doctors, nurses, and administrative staff so they can focus more on patient care and the patient's overall experience while, at the same time, providing new opportunities to advance Australian healthcare solutions.
An enabler of the Data and Digital Government Strategy
With specific regard to the public sector, the Data and Digital Government Strategy 2030 vision directly aligns with the Future Made in Australia policy because it involves transforming the Australian government into a data-informed and digitally capable entity to improve effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The strategy itself is intended to be a blueprint for the use and management of data and digital technologies, including those that support Future Made in Australia initiatives.
AI-powered automation could play a crucial role in enabling the strategy because it can directly provide efficiencies in public services for citizens, as well as internal departmental efficiencies that free public sector employees up so they can focus more on projects that support broadscale policies such as Future Made in Australia.
The efficiency gains and insights achieved through AI-powered automation will also enable government agencies to improve decision making for the longer-term benefit of citizens.
As the Australian Government's Data and Digital Government Strategy overview says, "The growing prevalence of artificial intelligence is a good example of the transformative impact emerging technologies can have on how the government operates, develops policy and delivers services."
This also applies to Australia's private sector and how it can help the government deliver on its Future Made in Australia promises. While AI is a good example of a transformative emerging technology, AI itself is not able to deliver on the government's transformation agenda without the power of automation to back it up by doing the tasks that currently slow human ingenuity down. In many ways, AI may be the head and provide the right thought processes, but automation is the body that actively undertakes tasks and directly moves the needle when it comes to productivity.
The topic of how AI-powered automation is supporting the future development of industries across government, education, transport, healthcare, manufacturing, banking, and insurance will be addressed at UiPath Business Automation Summit events in Sydney on July 16 and Melbourne on July 18.
