Opinion Work columnist April 30, 2026 — 2:38pm We’ve entered a fascinating moment in the history of work. For many decades, very little about how, where and why we work had changed, but the COVID years upended several of those areas at once, and now AI is doing it all over again. The rise of AI in the workplace is supercharging some jobs and undercutting others. It is undoubtably going to affect most areas of our lives. But just because it’s new doesn’t mean we have to let it run wild without imposing some rules. Treat AI like a junior colleague and double-check every “fact” it tells you. Now, I’m not talking about sorely needed laws and regulation, in Australia and in AI tools’ countries of origin, to keep the models in check. I mean every worker should define their own personal rules of engagement for how they choose to interact with this powerful new technology. I engage deeply with AI, using it to revolutionise some aspects of my life and intentionally keeping it away from others.…