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Will AI change the world for good, or just change it?

Authors

  • Roberto Garcia

    Partner, Environment Health and Safety, EY Australia

  • Karen Mealmaker

    EY Regional Environment, Health and Safety Leader for Oceania

  • Julia Mardjetko

    Director, Environment Health and Safety, EY Australia

1 minute read 17 Mar 2026
Related topics
Environment, health and safety

This paper explores how AI, when designed and implemented responsibly, can support the effective management of psychosocial risk using the EY Psychosocial Risk Framework. It also offers practical steps for organisations to follow, helping them protect their people and set themselves up for success throughout their AI adoption journey.

It is no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a part of almost every aspect of modern life. In the workplace, adopting AI isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore. Right now, we are seeing a rapid uptake of different AI tools, with generative AI (think OpenAI and Copilot), leading the charge. The EY 2025 Work Reimagined Survey shows that many employees are using generative AI on at least a weekly basis - if not more.

How EY can help

In Australia and New Zealand, approaches to workplace health and safety are evolving, with a strong emphasis on psychosocial hazards leading recent legislative changes. Regulators are updating codes of practice, and governments are starting to explore how AI might affect public safety.1 AI has also been identified by the federal regulator in Australia as one of the key emerging challenges which workforces will face over the next five years.2 As AI adoption accelerates, the focus is shifting from whether AI can help or harm workers, to how organisations shape its impact. What is clear is that organisations need a pathway for implementing AI now, in a way that supports workers rather than adding pressure or creating risks.

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