Australia should adopt AI 'everywhere we can' — minister

Australia's assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy, Andrew Charlton, has called for the country to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) "everywhere we can," arguing that Australia should be doing more to produce new AI models, not just build more data centres or import foreign models. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

In a speech to the Australian National University, Charlton estimated that up to 20% of Australians are already paying for an AI subscription, as well as one in three businesses, for a "reasonable estimate" of between $5-8 billion a year, and rising by up to 40% each quarter.

According to advance speech notes shared by his office, Charlton laments that "the overwhelming majority of those payments [are] flowing offshore. In effect, we are creating a new import bill."

He estimates that number could reach $20-40 billion annually within a decade, and discussed whether Australia should "try to reduce this dependence on foreign AI."

"Simply building data centres in Australia does not necessarily mean that Australia captures the economics of AI. We can supply the land. We can supply the electricity. We can host the machines. And still find that much of the value — and many of the economic rents — flow offshore," he told ANU.

Instead, Charlton argues Australia should do more in all parts of the AI supply chain, not just data centres and electricity but developing the models themselves — which capture most of the AI dollar.

"Australia faces two tasks in the age of AI. First, use it. Adopt AI everywhere we can, to lift the productivity of Australian workers and Australian businesses. Second, build around it. Create the companies, the capabilities, the intellectual property and the complementary assets that ensure Australians capture a meaningful share of the value AI creates," he said.

Charlton argued that AI would not "automatically" lift living standards for all Australians unless there was a sustained effort to properly harness both the technology itself and its associated industrial boom.