Australian Voiceover Professional Sounds Alarm Over AI's Impact on Creative Industries
An Australian voiceover artist has added his voice to a growing chorus of professionals expressing deep anxiety that artificial intelligence technology is poised to render their occupations obsolete. James Belts, a 46-year-old from Tasmania, records voiceovers for a diverse range of media including television, radio, film, e-learning modules, narration, phone system prompts, gaming, animation, and podcasts. However, he reports that earning a decent living has become increasingly difficult as AI tools proliferate.
'AI is Drying Up All the Work'
'AI is drying up all the work, so it's a very uneasy time,' Mr Belts confided to the Daily Mail. 'I can't see a solution. We just have to adapt, like the music industry did with streaming. I'm nervous. We have to roll with it and do the best we can because there's nothing we can do about it.' His concerns extend beyond those just starting their careers. Belts warns that even top-tier professionals are not immune to displacement.
'In the past I've had coaches at the very top of the industry saying it's only going to affect the bottom tier,' he explained. 'But in recent years I've seen the top guys now looking to diversify. I don't think there's an industry that's not affected by it. In terms of changing careers, I haven't thought about that because the next job will also be affected by AI.'
Survey Reveals Widespread Australian Anxiety Over AI Job Loss
These personal fears are reflected in broader workforce sentiment. A new survey from the global talent company Randstad has found that one in three Australians believe their job prospects have deteriorated over the past year specifically because of advances in artificial intelligence. The generational breakdown of this anxiety is particularly revealing:
- Millennials (37 per cent) express the highest level of concern.
- Gen X workers follow closely at 33 per cent.
- Gen Z (28 per cent) and Baby Boomers (22 per cent) report being less anxious about their jobs disappearing within the next five years due to AI.
Amelia O'Carrigan, Randstad's director of public sector and business support, described the survey results as a stark warning of an impending AI 'skills cliff'. 'This is a problem that businesses can't afford to ignore. Once AI becomes embedded in everyday roles, workers who haven't been upskilled don't gradually fall behind, unfortunately they fall off a cliff,' she cautioned. However, she offered a note of optimism: 'The good news is this skills cliff is avoidable. With clear, practical training and ongoing support, businesses can reduce fear and ensure AI works for people and not against them.'
Future Skills Landscape and Corporate Restructuring
The World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2025 corroborates this shifting landscape, identifying AI and big data analytics as the fastest-growing core skills required by the workforce until 2030. Other skills anticipated to be in high demand in the coming years include:
- Analytical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Resilience, flexibility and agility
- Technological literacy
This skills transformation is occurring against a backdrop of corporate restructuring. The Randstad survey was released shortly after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia laid off hundreds of domestic workers while simultaneously expanding its operations in India. The Big Four bank cut approximately 300 roles in a single day. Concurrently, it increased its India-based workforce by 21 per cent to 6,788 employees in the year to June 2025, representing a staggering 138 per cent increase since 2022. This move followed the bank recording a substantial $5 billion profit, highlighting the complex interplay between automation, globalisation, and local employment.
The collective message from voiceover artists like James Belts, survey data, and corporate trends is clear: artificial intelligence is no longer a distant future concern but a present-day reality reshaping job security and demanding a fundamental reskilling of the Australian workforce across all levels of experience and seniority.
