CANBERRA, Australia (Chatnewstv.com) — A woman who spent 25 years at Australia’s largest bank says she “inadvertently” trained the artificial intelligence chatbot that replaced her, in what unions are calling a warning sign for the future of work.
According to a report on www.news.com.au, Kathryn Sullivan, 63, was made redundant from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in July along with 44 colleagues after the lender introduced its chatbot, known as Bumblebee.
“We knew that messaging would eventually be sent offshore, but never in my wildest dream did I expect to be made redundant after 25 years with the company,” Sullivan told an AI symposium in Canberra this week.
“Inadvertently, I was training a chatbot that took my job.”
She said she had expected to be redeployed after helping test and script the bot’s responses. Instead, she was told she was no longer required.
“The initial reaction was shock,” Sullivan said. “While I embrace the use of AI and I can see a purpose for it in the workplace and outside, I believe there needs to be some sort of regulation … You still need the human touch.”
The Financial Sector Union challenged the job cuts at the Fair Work Commission, leading the bank to reinstate the 45 positions. The bank later conceded it had misjudged the workload and apologized.
“CBA’s initial assessment that the 45 roles were not required did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations,” a spokesman said.
“We have apologized to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough.”
Sullivan declined to accept an alternative role, saying it was unsuitable. She urged lawmakers to “make sure there are adequate regulations to protect people’s jobs, people’s rights.”
At the symposium, Australian Council of Trade Unions Assistant Secretary Joseph Mitchell said AI could bring opportunities if workers have a voice in how it is deployed.
“What we don’t want is Australia following a United States style ‘let it rip’ approach,” he said.
Industry Minister Tim Ayres told the event unions would be “at the top table” as the government develops AI frameworks.
“We’ve got to do this together, we’ve got to do it carefully, we’ve got to do it with precision,” he said.
Assistant Minister for Productivity Andrew Leigh added that AI should extend — not devalue — human expertise.
“The risk of AI is not mass unemployment, but the devaluation of expertise,” he said.
