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The federal government has released a discussion paper today (1 June), seeking comments on ways it can mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) while still taking advantage of innovation in the area.
The paper notes that while AI capability is on the rise, it’s still generally untrusted by the Australian public. The paper seeks to understand this mistrust and how to mitigate it, with the ultimate goal of building trust through “appropriate safeguards”.
“A starting point for considering any response is an understanding of the extent to which our existing regulatory frameworks provide these safeguards,” the paper said. “These existing regulations include our consumer, corporate, criminal, online safety, administrative, copyright, intellectual property and privacy laws.”
Another challenge to the uptake and development of AI that the paper addresses is the varying AI policy frameworks of different countries. By way of example, the paper points out that while countries like Singapore have a more open and voluntary approach to regulation and governance, other countries, such as Canada, favour a more regulatory approach.
The challenge before Australia lies in fitting in with these disparate frameworks, allowing the country to take advantage of foreign AI projects while growing our own AI industry so we can export to those jurisdictions.
While Australia does have regulations already in place, the paper is seeking feedback on “any potential gaps in the existing domestic governance landscape”. It also seeks advice on how governance mechanisms may be utilised to support further AI development in the country.
“Feedback on this paper will inform consideration across government on appropriate responses,” the paper said. “This will help support coordinated and coherent responses, recognising that these issues are crosscutting and related to a broad range of interests.”
The safe and responsible use of AI is also a key focus of the paper.
The paper points out that for all of the challenges of AI — from combating deepfakes to working around algorithmic biases — the opportunities are immense.
According to the Productivity Commission, AI is “one of the transformative digital technologies that can help to drive productivity growth in Australia, including through the support it provides for the production and adoption of robotics”.
AI and automation have the capacity to add between $1.1 trillion and $4 trillion to the Australian economy by early next decade, according to some reports. However, while the capacity for growth — both technological and economic is massive, there remains much about the growth of AI-based technologies that we still cannot predict.
“Given the speed of innovation driven by increasing investment, together with the rapid emergence of open-source systems, many of these opportunities are not yet fully understood,” the paper said.
You can read the full discussion paper, and have your say, here.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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