Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Lambie. The short answer is yes. The longer answer, if I might take a little bit of the allotted time, is that of course artificial intelligence offers Australia a significant opportunity. It does come with some risks that it is the government's responsibility to manage.

The National AI Plan that the government released at the end of last year, if my memory serves me correctly, had three core components. The first was making sure that we capture the opportunity of artificial intelligence investment here in Australia not just for economic reasons but for security and strategic reasons as well as much of the technology stack here in Australia. Second is that we spread the benefits throughout the Australian community and make sure that it's captured not just for the CBDs of our inner cities but for Australians in the suburbs and small and medium enterprises in our economy, and that Australians in the regions benefit from this technology. Third is dealing with the risks and dealing with the harms, and that is what the AI Safety Institute has been commissioned to do. That is, of course, accompanied by a solid commitment from this government to not undermine copyright protections for Australian artists and other Australian content producers—you cite newspapers and television—as well. That's our approach, and it hasn't changed.