The Australian Institute of Business (AIB) has redesigned its MBA to make artificial intelligence literacy and responsible AI leadership core management capabilities, responding to rapid changes already reshaping Australia’s workforce.
Backed by its own research into the use of ChatGPT in higher education, the largely online provider has rebuilt how AI is taught, assessed and supported across its MBA program. Central to the redesign is a new elective, Artificial Intelligence for Business, now available to all MBA students and positioned as a leadership capability rather than a technical specialisation.
The move reflects mounting evidence that AI is no longer confined to specialist roles. AIB’s analysis of job listings on LinkedIn and SEEK identified 2,372 Australian roles that reference AI in either the job title or description. Titles such as “AI Evangelist”, “AI Enablement Lead” and “AI & Automation Consultant” are becoming increasingly common, with responsibility for defining how AI is governed, deployed and embedded in organisational decision-making.
AIB’s data shows that demand is accelerating. In Sydney alone, AI-related job advertisements on SEEK rose from 651 in March 2025 to 909 in December 2025, an increase of 40 per cent. Brisbane experienced similar growth, with listings rising from 151 in July 2025 to 210 by December, a 39 per cent increase in just six months. Overall, Sydney accounted for 1,170 AI-referencing roles, Melbourne 622 and Brisbane 244.
Against this backdrop, AIB says the traditional approach to teaching AI as a purely technical or optional capability no longer reflects workplace reality. “AI has changed our practices in both academics and the workplace,” Associate Professor Sumesh Nair said. “This requires new managerial mindsets with a strategic, and not purely technical, view of AI.”
The Artificial Intelligence for Business elective is designed to give future managers a practical understanding of how AI functions inside real organisations and how it can be used to support growth, decision-making and competitive advantage, rather than being limited to cost reduction and automation. Students are introduced to AI fundamentals, including large language models, before progressing to applied use cases, governance considerations and ethical decision-making.
The course also addresses the risks associated with over-reliance on AI tools. AIB’s research found that students often place too much trust in AI outputs, despite tools frequently overlooking context or nuance. In response, the MBA now places greater emphasis on personal judgement, real-world application and reflective analysis, requiring students to explain and defend decisions using examples drawn from their own workplaces.
“Our research showed us that students need clear rules and support in learning how to use AI correctly,” said Associate Professor Mulyadi Robin, AIB’s Associate Dean Teaching and Learning. “This is not just in how they’re completing assigned work, but how to check and question AI output.”
By embedding these expectations into assessment design, AIB aims to strengthen students’ ability to verify information, challenge AI-generated responses and distinguish between what machines can do and where human judgement remains essential. The institution argues this capability is increasingly central to employability, as AI both replaces some roles and creates new ones focused on enablement, oversight and governance.
AIB’s analysis of job data supports that shift. Many AI-related roles identified were not technical development positions, but leadership and management roles responsible for shaping how AI is used across products, services and internal processes. In many cases, AI responsibilities now sit alongside broader management functions rather than within standalone technology teams.
To illustrate the geographic spread and growth of these roles, AIB has mapped the number of jobs with AI in the title or description across Australia.
AIB says the redesign of its MBA reflects a broader shift in business education, where AI literacy is becoming a baseline expectation rather than a niche capability. “We strongly believe that our work has placed AIB as the national authority at the intersection of AI, business education and leadership development,” Robin said.
Founded more than 40 years ago, the Australian Institute of Business is Australia’s largest online MBA provider, delivering fully online, accredited postgraduate business degrees to more than 20,000 students and graduates across 95 countries. As competition intensifies for graduates who can lead responsibly in AI-enabled organisations, AIB’s approach signals a move to place governance, ethics and strategic use at the centre of management education.
