Of the students surveyed, two in five (40 per cent) intend to start their careers in professional services, such as law.

The report found, among other things, that three in five (58 per cent) of Australian students are already using Gen AI, with this cohort thus being twice as likely as existing workers to use such emerging technology.

This number is only set to increase, as nearly seven in 10 (68 per cent) students believe that Gen AI tools aid their ability to understand new information.

There is “no doubt”, Deloitte wrote in its report, that the current cohort of students across the country are the nation’s “most tech-savvy yet”.

Employers – including those in law – will need to get ready for “Generation AI” now, the firm wrote, for two reasons.

“Firstly, because the next generation of employees will expect to have access to and work with AI to do their jobs, so this will need to be accommodated for. Secondly, students’ digi-savvy mindset and keen curiosity to find more productive ways to achieve desired outcomes can benefit existing employees and your business, too,” the report detailed.

The news follows extensive reporting by Lawyers Weekly on how Gen AI will see the study and practice of law evolve in the coming years, with such technology set to shake up all legal practice areas, including M&A, family law, and court advocacy, and potentially impact the jobs of legal support staff.

VIEW ALL

And while platforms like ChatGPT may not wholly replace lawyers (at least not yet), legal skillsets are absolutely set to change.

This all said, human lawyers remain “more relevant than ever” and emotional intelligence will be critical during the age of AI.

Lawyers Weekly has produced numerous podcast episodes on lawyers’ use of AI and ChatGPT for the future, including here and here.

The report also found that while more than one quarter (26 per cent) of Australia’s economy will be “rapidly disrupted” by gen AI, including professional services such as law, less than one in 10 (9.5 per cent) of large Australian businesses have officially adopted AI into their operations.

Moreover, Deloitte noted, Australia ranks second-last out of 14 leading economies on its deployment of Gen AI.

The amount invested annually in AI by Australian businesses is expected, the firm added, to be seven times what it is today by 2030, and the number of daily users is expected to double in the next five years.

Deloitte Access economics lead technology partner John O’Mahony said that the findings about students being twice as likely to use gen AI than current employees “speaks volumes”.

“Businesses need to prepare for this new generation of AI users – tech-savvy young people who are using Gen AI regularly to study, live and work better,” he proclaimed.

“They will no doubt change the way work gets done and test how emerging technology can transform businesses from within.”

Dr Kellie Nuttall, the lead strategy and business design partner at Deloitte Australia, added: “Individuals naturally embrace tech faster than business – but Gen AI has seen this happen faster than ever before, broadening the gap between a business and its workforce.”

“Yes, this leads to a disruptive threat; but it leads to an even bigger opportunity. Let’s not forget businesses are made up of lots of individuals, each with the power to disrupt,” she said.

And Deloitte Australia chief executive Adam Powick noted: “Leaders like me need to accept that this technology is real and recognise that our role is to harness and guide the responsible application of generative AI, rather than turning a blind eye or resisting change by banning its use.”

“We need to rapidly educate ourselves on the potential and implications of generative AI in our settings and actively encourage adoption, innovation and the sharing of ideas and concepts across our organisations,” he mused.