AI elephant in the boardroom: future workforce is here
That elephant is artificial intelligence.
While most leaders are fixated on generative tools and productivity boosts, few are confronting the deeper workforce transformation under way. AI is not just a technology shift. It's a workforce reckoning and for many leadership teams, it's still sitting in the too-hard basket.
But the future has already arrived.
The apprentice model is breaking
Our traditional model of career development — learning by doing, gradually gaining experience and judgment — is under threat. Junior roles are often the first to be automated.
In law, AI now summarises case law and drafts contracts, work previously done by graduates.
In accounting and consulting, it automates reconciliations, analysis, and reporting. If AI does the 'doing,' how do emerging professionals learn?
We continue to prepare workers for roles that may soon be obsolete, while under-investing in the capabilities humans will need most in an AI-enabled world: judgment, adaptability, ethical reasoning, creativity and critical thinking. These skills are essential to critique, shape and responsibly integrate AI into our world.
Dr Kellie Nuttall is AI Institute Leader at Deloitte Australia
Without redesign, we risk a generation of leaders who've never developed the judgment to lead. Doctors, for example, may become passive interpreters of AI diagnostics, unable to navigate the complex decisions patient care demands.
This shift isn't limited to medicine or law.
Even some of the world's leading AI companies are hiring fewer traditional tech grads.
Why? Because the skillset that matters most in an agentic AI world isn't just code — it's systems thinking, strategic reasoning, and the ability to work across disciplines.
It's many AIs per role — not one per person
A single AI agent may not replace a human job, but a team of agents working together can come close. For example, a marketing co-ordinator role could be handled by five AI agents managing copywriting, campaign scheduling, data reporting, customer segmentation, and workflow orchestration.
In finance, AI agents could process sales end-to-end — validating transactions, recording them in accounts, reconciling data, monitoring compliance, and generating reports.
We might start the journey with one human worker replaced by a digital one, but behind that 'one' will be an ecosystem of agents.
Suddenly, the whole notion of traditional organisational structures needs to be rethought entirely.
'New jobs will emerge' is not a strategy
We often hear that, like the Industrial Revolution, new roles will appear. That may be true. But what are they? Who will be qualified for them? How will people be trained to do them? And what's our plan to ensure they're accessible beyond the digitally elite?
This isn't just a technology conversation — it's a leadership one. The companies gaining ground aren't just investing in tools. They're empowering business leaders to challenge long-held assumptions, redesign jobs, and reimagine how value is created.
If you're serious about leading through this transformation, start by scenario planning for radically different futures, including one where digital labour represents potentially more than 30 per cent of your workforce.
The best way to assess your level of preparedness is to ask what your plan is if your current organisational design no longer serves you or what leadership and team structure looks like when AI agents are your middle managers.
You might also think about how you could protect and enhance human judgment in the areas where it matters most and how your revenue model will adapt in this new landscape.
Once that's accomplished you should look to build a human capability roadmap.
Shift your focus from training people to compete with AI to helping them augment it. Invest in creativity, emotional intelligence, complex decision-making, systems thinking – the skills machines can't replicate.
Simultaneously, to keep up with the pace of change, you need to go beyond using AI in fragmented ways. Don't just pilot tech — prototype the future of work.
Embed AI agents into real workflows. Learn where they shine, where they fail, and what it takes to scale. And don't forget to use AI personally so you truly understand what you're dealing with.
Learning by doing is the only way to stay ahead.
The AI elephant isn't looming in the distance. It's already sitting at the boardroom table, quietly rewriting your workforce strategy.
The organisations that thrive next won't be the ones who talk about AI. They'll be the ones who act with urgency, clarity and imagination.
Because if you're not actively reshaping your workforce for this new reality, you're not leading into the future.
You're watching it unfold without you.
Dr Kellie Nuttall is AI Institute Leader at Deloitte Australia.
Stephen Gustafson is CFO Program Leader at Deloitte Australia.
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Disclaimer
This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional adviser.
Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.
About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ('DTTL'), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.com/au to learn more.
Copyright © 2025 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.
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