Oskar Howell: Tech Commentator on the rising use of generative AI in the workplace

New Zealand workers seem to be embracing Gen AI in the workplace. 

New research from Robert Half finds 91% of workers are using AI tools to help with their day to day tasks. 

93% of workers say they’re transparent about their use with their managers and employers.  

Tech Commentator Oskar Howell told Francesca Rudkin it’s becoming a real staple of a lot of desk jobs, as it allows people to become more efficient. 

Although, he says there may be such a focus on upskilling in the area as people are concerned their job may be taken over by AI in the future. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
New research from Robert Half finds ninety one percent of
workers are using AI to help with their day to
day tasks and ninety three percent are open with their
higher ups about using it. But is it reducing the
importance of human employees? Tech commentator Oscar how is with
us this morning?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning, Oscar, morning Francesca. Thank you for having me on.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
It used to be seen as almost cheating, didn't it.
We sort of hit the fact that we might be
using AI. But is the perception of AI changing?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
I think so. I think a lot of employees, especially
in rolls, traditional desk rolls, really opening themselves up to
using AI and their daily jobs, and they're not afraid
to be talking with their managers about it.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Why are we suddenly so open about using it?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I don't know. There was almost a shift in the culture. Really,
a new research out of Robert Half of the crypting
agency you mentioned, fifty six are using it on a
daily or near daily basis. You know, maybe the advancement
of some of these AI tools that were seeing are
making it, you know, are making their workloads so their
ability to work so efficient that it's something that you

(01:03):
kind of just have to bring up. You know. I mean,
if you can turn around a report in thirty seconds
that might have taken you a week. Perhaps your manager
may have started off in questions, so it might be
it might pay to be forthright in these situations.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, I mean, I've been told by a few ATR
people that actually, these days, you know, they are looking
for people who understand how to use it, as opposed
to once upon a time, you know, implying that you know,
you're kind of cheating on your job.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah. No, I think it's becoming a real staple of
a lot of desk jobs. And I think, like you mentioned,
businesses are looking for people who have more than just
accurse through understanding of how AI works. Obviously, it's allowing
people to become more efficient. It's allowing them to get
their work done quicker and takes a lot of the
workload off. And yeah, I mean there's also the fact

(01:53):
that it can help you know, having an understanding of
AI can help you, you know, spot scam spot when
it's used maybe not so well. And yeah, I think
it's just improving people's ability to work.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
What are the impacts of such a huge increase? Are
we putting jobs at risk?

Speaker 2 (02:12):
I mean, that seems to be the fear at the moment, right,
And I almost wonder if a lot of these people
who are upskilling in the use of AI might be
doing so with that understanding that perhaps, you know, if
they're not on top of things, will maybe coming for
their jobs. I mean, at this point, eighty seven percent
of work are sampled in this survey said that they

(02:33):
think it's necessary for career success in the future. And yeah,
I tend to agree because I mean, if you, like
I said, like we said, it's so powerful and it
can turn around a lot of these creative or desk
roll you know, for a lot of these jobs, that
can turn around a lot of this work so quickly. Yeah,
I think there's a real possibility that some of these
roles might find themselves outpaced by technology in the next

(02:54):
few years.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Oscar, thank you so much for your thoughts this morning.
Really appreciate it. And of course we were talking to
today about the Oscars and how they've mentioned that you know,
if you happen to use AI in your film, it
doesn't mean that you won't win an Oscar. You were
still eligible and have an opportunity to win one of
the big Oscars. The reason they had to say that
was because actually, somewhere along the line in Hollywood, when

(03:15):
someone makes a film, AI is being used, whether it's
being used in the production stage and the post production stage,
Somewhere along the way, everybody's quietly using it. They didn't
want to admit it, but they are actually all quietly
using it in different ways. For more from earlier edition
with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news Talks it'd be
from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.