On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to unveil the Office of Artificial Intelligence, a new initiative aimed at creating a national strategy to guide the advancement of this dynamic technology.
Positioned within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Office will spearhead the development of Australian Standards addressing AI and its influence on areas such as energy, copyright, productivity, education, and labor rights.
Albanese emphasizes that “Australia will be a trailblazer, being the first nation globally to consolidate these critical issues into a cohesive national framework.”
This announcement coincides with interest from major technology firms, including Anthropic, known for the AI chatbot Claude, as they explore investment opportunities in AI data centers within Australia. This interest comes amid rising concerns regarding the impact on Australian intellectual property.
Albanese is also poised to address Anthropic’s prior assertions that their commitment to investing in AI projects and infrastructure hinges on clear copyright policies. He argues that establishing the proper regulatory framework will be instrumental in attracting business to Australia.
“And getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance,” he says.
Digital duty of care on the way
Set to speak in Sydney, Albanese will confirm the national framework adds to the government’s ongoing design of digital duty of care and mitigation of risks posed by AI on children and national security.
“We know that both extremists and state actors already use AI to create propaganda aimed at young people – and to spread disinformation that targets democracies,” he says.
Labor MP Ed Husic, a former industry minister, said giving big tech social licence was a path “sadly doomed to failure”.
“We tried self-regulation for … a couple of decades, found out that it didn’t work, and it won’t work on a financial basis for these firms,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.
“None of these firms will go one out from the other to bring in guardrails to limit the risks.”
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.