The pair say that many aspects of professional work are "routine and process-based" and do not "call for judgment, creativity, or empathy."

Mr Gonski's view that robots will not replace humans, and that humans prefer to deal with humans when it comes to many types of professional services, is shared by technology veteran Peter Williams.

"Computers don't have generalised intelligence. Automation can happen if the process is repeatable, persistent but when something goes wrong you need a human," said Mr Williams, a former partner at Deloitte who now runs the firm's Centre for the Edge on a part-time basis.

"This idea [that computers can take over many roles now performed by humans] assumes the world stands still and there is no new learning. We would still have to program computer to take account of any new knowledge.

A professional attitude, no matter what you do... is what elevates one from a machine," Mr Gonski said. Michel O'Sullivan

"I do think ultimately that the capacity of humans to work together and collaborate is key.

"The emphasis has to be on the relationship aspect of being a professional, and your capacity to use all this data to give better advice."

Mr Gonski, a long-time client of BMF Group, whose accounting arm has merged with Kelly + Partners late last year, admitted that some aspects of law had become commoditised and outlined a revealing story from one of the many boards he is currently sits on.


"Two weeks ago, sitting on a big board that I do, we put out a big tender to law firms and we chose a leading law firm as our major law provider on their hourly charge-out rate," he said.

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"We didn't ask who would deal with us, we didn't ask what professionalism would be brought to bear. We made an assumption that of the big four/five [law firms] in Australia, it would be pretty good.

"What is happening to professions is that they are becoming commoditised and indeed this is permeating, not just in law or accounting but it is all around us."

He ended by imploring the audience (jokingly): "Let's be professional and fight artificial intelligence."

edmundtadros@afr.com.au