Microsoft Australia's national technology officer Lee Hickin has reaffirmed that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are not replacing humans in the workforce, but are placing humans into positions where they can provide more value in their work. Speaking at ZDNet's Next Big Thing event in Sydney on Thursday, Hickin said the implementation of AI into work environments will augment the human experience, rather than replace it altogether. Using Microsoft's work at Northern Territory fisheries as an example, Hickin said the implementation of AI can "take away what we would call'grunt work' in jobs and functions". The AI fisheries project uses the company's Azure Cognitive Service to identify and count fish in waters without needing to sort through hours of under-water footage. The solution has already shown that the local golden snapper and black jewfish species are overfished.