AI has emerged as a major source of energy demand in 2025. Its impact on our environment and, subsequently, our careers is raising serious concerns. In April, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projected that electricity consumption by data centers would more than double by 2030. The report added a warning that there was “substantial uncertainty about data center consumption today and in the future”.
Google has unveiled a plan to restart a US nuclear facility in Iowa to power the company’s AI infrastructure. It made the announcement to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Centre in collaboration with electric power company NextEra Energy. The facility, which was shut in 2020, would return to service in 2029 – “to help power Google’s growing cloud and AI infrastructure in Iowa”.
A recent shock announcement from tech giant Amazon stated it will lay off 14,000 corporate workers globally as it ramps up its push into AI. There is speculation of further job cuts in the coming years. The cuts amount to about a 4% reduction in its corporate workforce. Amazon’s workforce doubled during the pandemic as millions stayed home and boosted online spending. In the following years, big tech and retail companies cut thousands of jobs to bring spending back in line. It was the second biggest culling at Amazon since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.
An Amazon representative said there were more than 1,000 generative AI services and applications in progress and that was a “small fraction” of what it plans to build. Since the start of 2024, Amazon has committed to about $US10 billion to data center projects in several US states, as it builds its infrastructure to keep up with other tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Meta, who are leading the AI race.
Here in Australia, the Jobs and Skills study found current generative AI technologies were “more likely to enhance workers’ efforts in completing tasks, rather than replace them, especially in high-skilled occupations”. However, it still found some roles faced “repeated exposure to automation with limited mobility options”.
Summary:
- A recent study by Microsoft researchers found the jobs most exposed to AI chatbots included interpreters and translators, historians, sales, marketing and customer service representatives, copywriters and authors.
- Australian companies such as the Commonwealth Bank have already replaced some support staff with AI chatbots, while telecommunications giant Telstra said AI would help shrink its workforce by 2030.
- Jobs set to lose the most employment by 2050 included office clerks, receptionists, bookkeepers, and professionals in public relations, business analysis, and programming.
- The occupations that could gain more employment in Australia by 2050 included cleaners and laundry workers, midwifery and nursing professionals, administration managers, construction/mining labourers, and hospitality workers, according to the study.
- There was also no evidence of widespread displacement of entry-level jobs in Australia yet, which suggested this “may partly reflect the early stage of adoption” domestically. (Australian Computer Society, October 2025)
The big picture:
AI seems to be replacing tasks, not whole jobs. Disruption is uneven and limited mainly to certain roles or contract types. AI’s main current effect is assistive rather than displacing. Though the next wave of adoption could shift that balance. Furthermore, broader labour market data in the US, UK, and Europe show NO CLEAR AI-related employment decline.
And no, this Blog was not written by a GenAI platform. All original work written by Julie is authentic content, with research from the internet, published articles and professional learning. Thought I would pass that information on!