Govt wary of over-regulating AI: Jane Hume - InnovationAus

The government is wary of over-regulating new technologies such as artificial intelligence and will resist making ethics standards and codes mandatory for Australian businesses, Digital Economy minister Jane Hume says. In an address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), Senator Hume said the federal government would play an enabling role in accelerating the growth of artificial intelligence, along with setting standards in terms of ethics. "AI, along with other digital technologies, will play an increasingly important role in our economy and society over the next decade and beyond," Senator Hume said. "As we continue to vault forward in this space, government has a pivotal role to play as an enabler, and as a standard setter – particularly in regards to ethics. "The government has a significant responsibility … to ensure that AI, as an industry as well as a technology, has every chance to flourish, making sure we have the right settings, skills and expertise in place to ensure Australia is a global forerunner." The May budget allocated $124 million to artificial intelligence initiatives, including $50 million for a National AI Intelligence Centre within CSIRO and $34 million in grants for AI projects addressing national challenges. The Coalition has also unveiled AI ethics principles, with eight guiding principles "designed to help achieve safer and more reliable outcomes for all Australians". These principles and other standards around AI are currently entirely voluntary for Australian businesses, and Senator Hume said the government will avoid making them mandatory. "I obviously would rather have a voluntary code where industry has the input to what's in the code.