Australia floats AI regulation plan
Sydney (16 July)
The Australian Government will develop nationally binding data centre development standards and guarantee copyright protections for creatives to ensure that Australia benefits from advances in artificial intelligence (AI).
Data centre developers will need to underwrite power costs, pay for new grid connections, reduce power to support the grid, and use power efficiently under the Government's planned regulatory framework, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on 15 July.
Other large Australian energy users already adjust power levels to support the state power grids. Rio Tinto’s Tomago aluminium smelter – which consumes 10% of New South Wales’ power supply – can cut its power use by 63% within minutes if needed.
The Government also plans to bar AI developers from training models on Australian creative works without the consent of creatives, Albanese added. But the Government has not announced any proposals related to existing models trained on creative works.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – rather than existing regulators – will enforce the Government’s AI standards through a new Office of AI.
“[Australia’s AI regulation] framework is about protecting our national interests and ensuring certainty for growth, jobs and investment,” Albanese said.
“The real issues AI presents are not technical ones - they are economic ones, legal ones, social ones, and as Pope Leo has made clear in his superb first Papal Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, there [are] also moral and spiritual ones,” Albanese said during a speech at the University of Sydney. “[The issues] are tests of our national values and our national interests,” he added.
The Tech Council of Australia – which represents a range of software companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI – has welcomed Albanese’s announcement and speech, but noted that Australia already has effective AI-related laws and regulators.
“Public trust will be critical, and the tech sector has a responsibility to ensure AI is developed and used … in Australia’s national interest,” Tech Council Director of Policy and Government Lucinda Longcroft said.
“[The Council] will consult members … and continue working with the government as [its] framework is developed,” Longcroft added.
By Avinash Govind