Key Takeaways
- The Albanese government has launched a National AI Plan, focusing on the economic benefits of artificial intelligence and plans to "unlock" vast datasets to help train AI models.
- The government has rejected setting up a stand-alone AI act of parliament, instead relying on existing legislation to cover the technology.
- The plan includes a $30m commitment to set up an AI Safety Institute to advise the government on the technology and potential future laws.
- The government aims to support workers affected by AI, boost investment in datacentres, and share the productivity benefits across the economy.
- The plan highlights the need to address the environmental impact of datacentres, including water and power consumption.
Introduction to the National AI Plan
The Albanese government has unveiled a new national roadmap for artificial intelligence, emphasizing the technology’s economic benefits and plans to "unlock" vast datasets held by private companies and the public service to help train AI models. The National AI Plan, launched by Minister for Industry and Science Tim Ayres, outlines the government’s approach to supporting and reskilling workers affected by AI, boosting investment in datacentres, and sharing the productivity benefits across the economy. The plan also highlights the need to address the environmental impact of datacentres, including water and power consumption.
Rejecting a Stand-Alone AI Act
The government has rejected setting up a stand-alone AI act of parliament, an approach pushed by former minister Ed Husic. Instead, the government will rely on existing legislation to cover the fast-growing new technology. Ayres stated that the plan is focused on capturing the economic opportunities of AI, sharing the benefits broadly, and keeping Australians safe as technology evolves. The government will monitor the development and deployment of AI and respond to challenges as they arise, and as the understanding of the strengths and limitations of AI evolves.
Supporting Workers and Boosting Investment
The plan includes a $30m commitment to set up an AI Safety Institute next year, which will advise the government on the technology, including whether new laws are needed in future. The government aims to support workers affected by AI, with Ayres stating that technology "should enable workers’ talents, not replace them". The plan also highlights the need to boost investment in datacentres, with Australia aiming to be a top destination for investment in the sector. The government notes local excellence in datacentres, academic research, and AI jobs, and aims to create a fairer, stronger Australia where every person benefits from this technological change.
Addressing Environmental Concerns
The plan highlights the need to address the environmental impact of datacentres, including water and power consumption. Datacentres consume about four terawatt hours of power in 2024, 2% of the grid-supplied power, with expectations that this could triple by 2030. The plan notes that datacentres can consume tens of millions of litres of water, and will need to develop new technology to cool their projects and reduce their water usage. The government aims to expand new renewable energy and efficient cooling technologies for systems, to reduce the environmental impact of datacentres.
Unlocking High-Value Datasets
The plan suggests that "non-sensitive" public datasets from the government, such as the Bureau of Statistics, could be opened up to AI companies to help train their models. The government is keen to help "unlock high value datasets for pilot AI use cases, from both public and private sources" to help train those models. However, the plan notes that those plans are still in early development, and doesn’t rule out new licensing schemes or other compensation. The government aims to support AI innovations that create value for the AI sector, deliver public goods, and better reflect the Australian context.
Conclusion
The National AI Plan outlines the government’s approach to artificial intelligence, focusing on the economic benefits and plans to "unlock" vast datasets to help train AI models. The government has rejected setting up a stand-alone AI act of parliament, instead relying on existing legislation to cover the technology. The plan includes a $30m commitment to set up an AI Safety Institute and aims to support workers affected by AI, boost investment in datacentres, and share the productivity benefits across the economy. The government also highlights the need to address the environmental impact of datacentres, including water and power consumption, and aims to expand new renewable energy and efficient cooling technologies for systems.