Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2024
  4. arrow_forward_ios 06
  5. arrow_forward_ios Invisible Bystanders: Workers’ experience of AI

Invisible Bystanders: Workers’ experience of AI

3 June 2024

New research from the UTS Human Technology Institute reveals that workers are being treated as “invisible bystanders” regarding artificial intelligence, leaving organisations, employees and the public at risk of missed opportunities and significant harms. 

Workers' experience of AI and automation

From February to April 2024, HTI and Essential undertook innovative qualitative research to explore the experience of Australian workers regarding AI and automation. To complement industry's recent focus on the impact of AI on employees in the IT sector, HTI and Essential engaged with nurses, retail workers, and public servants.  

HTI co-director Professor Nicholas Davis said that the research is the first of its kind in which workers are taken on a reflective journey around AI, producing findings that support economists' latest modelling of the economic challenges posed by automation-focused technologies.  

The research finds workers are not opposed to AI. In fact, they see opportunities for improving many parts of their work, especially around reducing the burden of paperwork and compliance. -Professor Nicholas Davis

But the study also shows that workers – when provided with the right tools to reflect and discuss – are both nuanced and expert when it comes to how AI tools can be used productively and responsibly. -Professor Nicholas Davis

Participants expressed significant concerns about the impact of AI on their work:  

  • the impact of automated decisions on patient care in nursing such as the dispensing of drugs and triage diagnosis. 

  • resistance amongst public servants, where trust and licence has been undermined by Robodebt. 

  • a fundamental change in work for retail workers in stores where automated checkouts have been implemented.  

The key findings from this research are:  

  • Workers are ‘invisible bystanders’ in relation to the adoption of AI and automation into their work lives as they are not being consulted regarding the development, training or deployment of these systems.  

  • Workers initially had a low understanding of AI, low awareness of how AI was being deployed in their industry, and low trust that it will be implemented in the interests of workers and the customers, patients, or the public that they serve.  

  • However, by engaging with workers on these issues, they were able provide valuable and nuanced insights into many ethical, legal, and operational issues raised by these systems.   

  • Workers are not inherently opposed to the adoption of AI and see the benefits and opportunities for AI to improve systems, reduce menial tasks and complement human intelligence and labour.  

By failing to engage with workers, organisations are unable to benefit from the expertise of their workers, particularly their insights into the harms and benefits of AI systems. This will lead to poorer adoption and implementation of AI systems, creating increased governance risks for organisations.  

The report suggests a range of policy opportunities to address these issues: 

  • establishing of industry-wide AI works council to embed the worker voice into the development and deployment of these technologies 

  • imposing a general duty of care on organisations equivalent to workplace safety obligations 

  • limits on how and why workers are subject to surveillance 

  • establishing industrial guardrails, such as nurse: patient ratios, to ensure that technology improves rather than replaces workers. 

Read the Invisible Bystanders report here

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to HTI news

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility