On July 15, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese laid out how his authorities plans to handle synthetic intelligence (AI) and make sure the quickly advancing know-how works in Australia’s curiosity. In a main speech on the College of Sydney, Albanese declared that AI “is a much bigger problem and a much bigger alternative than social media,” and that Australia should transfer now to find out its “social license” and seize the alternatives it presents.
Key to the federal government’s plans is the quick institution of an Workplace of AI inside the prime minister’s personal division and the creation of latest nationwide requirements for AI.
This information comes as a gaggle of main economists and AI researchers urge policymakers and tech firms all over the world to organize now for the way the know-how might reshape the worldwide financial system on a a lot larger and sooner scale than the Industrial Revolution did.
Albanese stated the brand new Workplace of AI will coordinate AI coverage throughout authorities, reasonably than leaving particular person departments to develop their very own approaches. This can be just like how the federal government developed coordinated approaches for different important applied sciences corresponding to civil aviation and genetics.
The workplace may also assist coordinate the design of latest nationwide requirements for AI. These requirements, which Albanese stated can be legislated early subsequent yr, will construct on the federal government’s beforehand introduced expectations for information facilities. They’ll, for instance, create a brand new authorized obligation for big information middle operators to underwrite their very own energy provide, not enhance family energy costs, and decrease water utilization.
Different nations are additionally grappling with how greatest to deal with this problem. Certainly, hours earlier than Albanese’s speech, New York enforced a one-year moratorium on the constructing of latest information facilities. There are rising calls for Australia to do the identical.
However Albanese instructed his authorities wouldn’t be heeding these calls. As he stated: “No authorities can flip again the clock or press pause on all of this. Nor would we wish to. That may solely imply chopping ourselves off from the alternatives which are there to be seized.”
Albanese additionally reiterated his authorities’s dedication to the “strongest potential safety” for artists, musicians and journalists, who ought to retain possession and management of their works within the AI age.
Final yr the Labor authorities rejected a copyright exemption that will enable AI firms to make use of protected content material totally free when creating AI fashions. In distinction to different jurisdictions (corresponding to america, European Union, and Japan), Australian AI builders will nonetheless must pay for creators’ content material.
This method is truthful. However the authorities has since been grappling with how to make sure this coverage doesn’t drawback Australian AI builders and the funds attain precise creators. In his speech in the present day, Albanese promised legal guidelines to deal with this. However he didn’t present any readability on what they may appear to be.
By establishing the AI Workplace and creating nationwide requirements for AI, Australia is attempting to place itself as a global chief in AI coverage. However Albanese’s declare that Australia “would be the first nation on the earth to convey [AI] points right into a single, nationwide framework” is overstated.
For instance, the European Union adopted the AI Act again in 2024. This established strict regulation particularly for high-risk AI. It additionally established the EU AI Workplace to coordinate the implementation of the AI Act and defend folks in opposition to the dangers of the know-how.
This yr, nonetheless, the EU Fee launched amendments to weaken a number of the necessities within the AI Act and postponed sure implementation deadlines.
This “watering down” of the AI Act is meant to spice up AI innovation within the EU. It comes after AI builders have been complaining that strict EU regulation slows down AI improvement.
Different nations appear to additionally favor a pro-innovation method, as a substitute of sturdy regulation. South Korea, for instance, has launched an AI Primary Act for top impression AI techniques, however its guidelines are a lot much less strict than within the EU. Japan has opted for voluntary steering for the AI sector. So Australia’s resolution to not introduce onerous regulation (corresponding to obligatory AI guardrails) however reasonably depend on softer requirements and national-level coordination seems to align with worldwide tendencies.
The brand new requirements and workplace introduced in the present day are a great start line for managing AI. So too is Albanese’s promise to guard artistic industries whose content material has been utilized by AI firms to coach their giant language fashions with out consent. Nevertheless, we don’t but know the way, or how effectively, the federal government will do that.
Way more work and management from the federal government is required – particularly in relation to mitigating the big range dangers of AI, together with misinformation and misleading deep-fakes, anti-democratic propaganda, well being AI apps inflicting well being issues of safety, and public safety challenges.
And whereas the federal government hopes its new AI requirements will allay group fears about information facilities, the information out of New York is prone to solely gasoline the push in Australia to hit “pause” on them.
This text was initially printed on The Dialog. Learn the unique article. 
