Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Technology is a beautiful thing, and I say that as someone that genuinely loves it. I'm usually the first in my family to pick up new apps, tools and trends. What excites me about technology is its potential to enhance human life and to make things better, smarter and more connected. That's the beauty of it. Its Greek root 'techne' means craft—something shaped with intention—but craft alone is not enough. It needs 'telos'—it needs purpose. Technology must be guided by a clear sense of why it exists and who it is meant to serve. Artificial intelligence is advancing at a rapid pace. What we once thought of as futuristic is now a daily part of life. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are not googling anymore; they are ChatGPTing. If you say you googled something, you've dubbed yourself as maybe a boomer. This shift isn't just cultural. It's generational, and it's accelerating faster than our ability to regulate it.

Other nations are acting. The European Union has passed the world's first comprehensive AI law. The United Kingdom has launched a national strategy to ensure AI development is safe, transparent and in the public interest. The United States Congress is also progressing bipartisan legislation. But Australia is behind. We risk becoming passive recipients, not just of foreign technology but of foreign values. AI experts predict that, with the rapid development of large language models, life as we know it has about 12 months left before it comprehensively changes. That might sound dramatic, but it's true. The opportunity is exciting, but the threat is equally as real. We need laws that ensure that AI serves the Australian people, upholding privacy, protecting the vulnerable and putting people before algorithms. The time to act is now.