Bank Employee Replaced by AI, Later Rehired

An employee at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) faced the realities of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace when a chatbot she helped train replaced her position.

According to Yahoo Finance, Kathryn, a customer service representative for 25 years, had recently moved to an online support role, allowing her to work from home while caring for her son with mild intellectual disabilities.

Her duties included developing scripts for a new AI chatbot, internally known as Bumblebee, and overseeing its interactions with customers to ensure appropriate responses.

The technology was designed to learn from her input, gradually handling more complex queries and mimicking human responses.

In July, Kathryn was informed she was among 45 staff made redundant as the AI system took over tasks previously performed by human workers.

Kathryn had informed the bank of her plans to retire by 2029 and expressed concerns about supporting her family amid the unexpected job loss.

The decision was challenged by the Financial Sector Union, which brought the issue to the Fair Work Commission. Following union intervention, CBA reversed its redundancies, offering staff the choice to retain their roles or accept voluntary redundancy.

Kathryn was subsequently redeployed to the bank's fraud and scams department.

Atlassian, an Australian tech company, recently announced 150 employees will be laid off, with some responsibilities to be managed by AI. Telstra, an Australian telco, also acknowledged AI could reduce its workforce in the coming years.

In response, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called for stricter AI regulations to protect workers from similar outcomes as Kathryn's.