AI and automation tech bounty on the horizon for public sector partners

Local partners specialising in artificial intelligence AI, machine learning and automation may want to get ready for a wave of public sector work as the federal government moves to boost its automated decision making capabilities. On 9 October, Australia's Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews and Education Minister Dan Tehan jointly announced that the government would spend $31.8 million to establish a research centre to investigate responsible, ethical, and inclusive automated decision making. The new Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society will be based at RMIT University in Melbourne, and will bring together national and international experts from the humanities, and the social and technological sciences in its efforts to develop a sound basis upon which to build out automated decision making across government. While the controversy around the government's much maligned automated debt collection scheme may have left a bad taste in the public's collective mouth when it comes to automation in public services, Tehan is confident that automated decision making technology can be a force for good in the public sector. "Our Government is funding research into automated decision making to ensure this technology provides the best possible outcomes for society and industry," Tehan said in a statement.