VIDEO: Government reveals national AI plan to 'serve' Australians

SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: Tim Ayres is the minister for industry and innovation and you are welcome to the studio. 

TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION:  Gidday, Sarah. It is good to be here. 

SARAH FERGUSON:  Was AI used to write this plan?

TIM AYRES:  No, it was not. This is, it is a technology that's been adopted by Australians every day in the workplace, using it at home to do all sorts of things.

SARAH FERGUSON:  But you didn't think reliable enough for this report. 

TIM AYRES:  No, well, I think that people want to see government reports, government plans, authored by human beings who take responsibility for big political decisions and big policy calls like the approach we've taken here. 

SARAH FERGUSON:  Do you anticipate that will change though, that you will start seeing things like this, major pieces of work at least, there will be a contribution from AI very soon?

TIM AYRES:  We are starting to Australians using artificial intelligence to do writing tasks. Sometimes to write something at beginning and then throw it into artificial intelligence to clarify the structure, but it is really important that Australians are sceptical consumers of this technology. 

That you are fact checking yourself. Of course, experiment with the technology, play with it, use it assist you in your work, but take responsibility for what it is that you've authored.

SARAH FERGUSON:  Now you actually said in a speech that you gave today, AI comes with new risks and potential for undesired consequences. Be specific, what do you see as the biggest risks. 

TIM AYRES:  Well, we have seen artificial intelligence enabling in the social media landscape, deepfake pornography. Really, it is absolutely corrosive for Australians to see those kinds of images, whether they're consuming them or in fact, their consent has been ripped away. 

The government has moved fast on those questions. Anika Wells leading our response there with the E-Safety Commissioner.

SARAH FERGUSON:  Can government actually do anything to stop platforms accelerating bad viral content?

TIM AYRES:  Well, our laws apply now. Australian law, whether it is in communications law or in criminal law context or indeed in areas of financial scams that might be enabled by artificial intelligence technology, our legal frameworks apply now. 

We are going to continue to use this Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute which will start next year to make sure that we're scanning the horizon, identifying those risks and where we need to, to improve regulation, lift capability and make sure that we're responsive dealing with risks to keep Australians safe.

SARAH FERGUSON: You've landed an interesting point because previously you were looking at a new AI Act, at much tougher guardrails around how AI companies should operate in Australia. What persuaded you that it was safe enough for Australians to do without that European-style control?

TIM AYRES:  I think this is the safest option for Australia. An artificial intelligence...

SARAH FERGUSON:  The government didn't used to think that. 

TIM AYRES:  Yeah, but we've worked our way through a process, and this technology is evolving. We're watching the responses of governments around the world. 

The Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute is an important part of the process which is about lifting government capability and making sure that we're keeping Australians safe while we're focused on capturing the economic opportunity here and spreading the benefits, not just here where we are in Sydney's CBD, but making sure Australians in our suburbs, in our regional areas are experiencing the benefits of this technology.

SARAH FERGUSON:  It puts a lot of onus on that institute. Will it have actual powers or just be advisory?

TIM AYRES:  Well, we've got it set up. It will start operating in early 2026. We'll build that capability carefully. We'll be watching this very closely.

SARAH FERGUSON:  That wasn't quite an answer to the question. Do you anticipate that institute will just advise, or will it have actual powers to act?

TIM AYRES:  Right now, it is going to advise, and it is the responsibility of the portfolio agencies and the regulators to act. 

That's one of the key features of our approach that we have announced today. We're not doubling up or creating any ambiguity about the responsibility of agencies to act. Where they need more powers, they'll get them from this government. 

We're focused as well on the economic opportunity. I look at my area of science, for example, the capacity for us to enable Australian research and development in areas like pharmaceuticals, drug design, cancer diagnosis and treatment, all sorts of areas of technology, composite material design, we can do fast in Australia's interests solving national problems. 

So yes, keeping Australians safe, absolutely, crucial, but also making sure Australia captures this opportunity.

SARAH FERGUSON:  Let's talk about the big question around energy, the enormous amount of energy that data centres require. Do you know, in fact, how much energy will be required for the number of data centres that you hope to see built in Australia?

TIM AYRES:  We're going to require more electricity for our ambitions in terms of digital infrastructure. We're going to require more electricity for our industrial ambitions in Future Made in Australia and both of those are going to require addition, as well transition in the energy system.

SARAH FERGUSON:  And in relation to the data centres, do you have a figure yet for how much extra electricity you are going to expect to come from the grid?

TIM AYRES:  That will depend upon the scale of the investment as it comes in and what we are seeing is high-quality investments come with their own energy solutions and that means a net addition to the grid's generation capacity, transmission capacity and overall stability. 

That's what we want to see, high-quality investments in Australia. We will have more to say jointly with the states and territories about our data centre principles, but as you can imagine, it will go to energy security questions and some of the water security questions that revolve around data centres.

SARAH FERGUSON:  Will you be expecting major companies who invest in data centres in Australia to also pay for their own, for the generation of their own energy that they will use?

TIM AYRES:  That's exactly the kind of principle that we want to advance with the states and look today...

SARAH FERGUSON:  Is that going to be, just to be clear, is that going to be part of the plan, that those big companies like Microsoft and Amazon, they will be required to supply their own energy? 

TIM AYRES:  That is absolutely part of the discussion. You see Microsoft's investment in Australia today, under-pinning an enormous solar energy generation capacity, north of Albury, like a real project, the Walla Walla project, under-pinned, paid for to a large extent by Microsoft's data centre investments. That's the kind of quality investment that lifts the capability of the whole grid and means that we're driving more investment, making electricity cheaper for ordinary Australians. 

SARAH FERGUSON:  Do you expect a problem in the short term though because you want data centres to be built. We know that there is going to be pressure on the grid. Before all of that, new energy comes online, are these data centres going to cause problems to the renewables roll-out and the availability of energy to Australians?

TIM AYRES:  It requires careful planning and ambition for the electricity sector. We are coming off the back of a decade where nothing happened in the electricity sector. Generation capability left, there was disinvestment in the sector. 

We're rapidly, led by Chris Bowen, rebuilding a modern electricity capability for Australia. We want to see these things happen in parallel and in a carefully planned way. 

I want to see it in the manufacturing sector that I've got responsibility for too. More electrification means lowering Australia's emissions, more investment in Australian manufacturing in the outer suburbs and the regions, means more electricity generation. All of this comes together.

SARAH FERGUSON:  Let me just ask you a question about copyright. We've had some discussions about copyright on this program, so the government has rejected the broad exemptions to copyright that the tech industry wanted from Australia. What protections can we expect to see for journalists and creatives in Australia?

TIM AYRES:  Well, there is absolutely clear commitment from this government, there will be no weakening of copyright law or copyright protections. Journalists, writers, musicians, they are so important to the way that Australia sees itself in constructing a resilient national culture. 

We won't be undermining copyright protections. We will be working, led by the Attorney-General and the Minister for Arts, working with the creative community to see where there are improvements that we can make. 

Our unique copyright system has collection agencies and all sorts of features. We want to see them work in this new environment for artists.

SARAH FERGUSON:  That will be some comfort to the creatives of Australia. Tim Ayres, thank you very much indeed for coming in today. 

TIM AYRES:  Thanks Sarah.

SARAH FERGUSON:  Thank you very much.