Australia establishes Office of AI with strict energy rules and copyright protections for creatives

Australia wants to 'manage' AI. What will that look like?

Today, prime minister Anthony Albanese laid out how his government plans to manage artificial intelligence (AI) and ensure the rapidly advancing technology works in Australia's interest. In a major speech at the University of Sydney, Albanese declared that AI "is a bigger challenge and a bigger opportunity than social media", and that Australia must move now to determine its "social licence" and capture the opportunities it presents. Key to the government's plans is the immediate establishment of an Office of AI within the prime minister's own department and the creation of new national standards for AI. This news comes as a group of leading economists and AI researchers urge policymakers and tech companies around the world to prepare now for how the technology could reshape the global economy on a much bigger and faster scale than the Industrial Revolution did. A new office and new standards Albanese said the new Office of AI will coordinate AI policy across government, rather than leaving individual departments to develop their own approaches. This will be similar to how the government developed coordinated approaches for other significant technologies such as civil aviation and genetics. The office will also help coordinate the design of new national standards for AI. These standards, which Albanese said will be legislated early next year, will build on the government's previously announced expectations for data centres. They will, for example, create a new legal obligation for large data centre operators to underwrite their own power supply, not increase household power prices, and minimise water usage. Other countries are also grappling with how best to handle this issue. Indeed, hours before Albanese's speech, New York enforced a one-year moratorium on the building of new data centres. There are growing calls for Australia to do the same. But Albanese suggested his government would not be heeding these calls. As he said: No government can turn back the clock or press pause on all of this. Nor would we want to. That would only mean cutting ourselves off from the opportunities that are there to be seized. Protection for artists and creative industries Albanese also reiterated his government's commitment to the "strongest possible protection" for artists, musicians and journalists, who should retain ownership and control of their works in the AI age. Last year the Labor government rejected a copyright exemption that would allow AI companies to use protected content for free when developing AI models. In contrast to other jurisdictions (such as the United States, European Union and Japan), Australian AI developers will still have to pay for creators' content. This approach is fair. But the government has since been grappling with how to ensure this policy does not disadvantage Australian AI developers and the payments reach actual creators. In his speech today, Albanese promised laws to address this. But he did not provide any clarity on what they might look like. Where does Australia sit internationally? By establishing the AI Office and developing national standards for AI, Australia is trying to position itself as an international leader in AI policy. But Albanese's claim that Australia "will be the first country in the world to bring [AI] issues into a single, national framework" is overstated. For example, the European Union adopted the AI Act back in 2024. This established strict regulation especially for high-risk AI. It also established the EU AI Office to coordinate the implementation of the AI Act and protect people against the risks of the technology. This year, however, the EU Commission introduced amendments to weaken some of the requirements in the AI Act and postponed certain implementation deadlines. This "watering down" of the AI Act is intended to boost AI innovation in the EU. It comes after AI developers have been complaining that strict EU regulation slows down AI development. Other countries seem to also favour a pro-innovation approach, instead of strong regulation. South Korea, for example, has introduced an AI Basic Act for high impact AI systems, but its rules are much less strict than in the EU. Japan has opted for voluntary guidance for the AI sector. So Australia's decision not to introduce hard regulation (such as mandatory AI guardrails) but rather rely on softer standards and national-level coordination appears to align with international trends. A starting point The new standards and office announced today are a good starting point for managing AI. So too is Albanese's promise to protect creative industries whose content has been used by AI companies to train their large language models without consent. However, we don't yet know how, or how well, the government will do this. Much more work and leadership from the government is needed - especially in relation to mitigating the wide array risks of AI, from misinformation and deceptive deep-fakes, anti-democratic propaganda, health AI apps causing health safety issues, and public security challenges. And while the government hopes its new AI standards will allay community fears about data centres, the news out of New York is likely to only fuel the push in Australia to hit "pause" on them.

Australia demands AI companies must produce more energy than they consume, stop 'theft' of content

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a landmark speech outlining the nation's AI policy, which will require datacenter builders to contribute more energy than they consume and mean AI companies must reach agreements with local artists and media before using their content. "Let me make this crystal clear - not everything produced in Australia is up for grabs," Albanese said, a reference to both content and the nation's energy and water resources. The PM said Australia will therefore legislate to require builders of large new datacenters to become net generators of energy, rather than consumers, by funding electricity generation projects to meet their needs and pay for associated work to bolster energy grids. The policy also requires datacenter operators to pay for water infrastructure and make minimal environmental impacts. The PM expects Australia's states and territories to sign up to his plan so the nation can offer expedited approval processes for datacenter builds and consistent operating standards that apply across the country. Nationwide laws, Albanese argued, will make Australia a more attractive destination for inbound investment by making it easier for AI companies to plan new datacenters - and perhaps offset other elements of the policy that are more onerous than laws in other countries. "Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists, must retain ownership and control of their work," Albanese said. "Anything less is theft." He said Australia's approach "will ensure Australian writers, artists and journalists retain ownership over their work, meaning no company should use Australian creative works to train AI without the artist's control." The PM added his view that no country has given artists and rights-holders sufficient control of how AI companies use their works. Albanese didn't say how he plans to enforce that control, but his speech framed the effort to do so as getting ahead of AI before big players get too much power. Albanese asked his audience to imagine how much better off Australia would be if it had regulated social media a decade before the 2024 introduction of a ban on children aged under 16 accessing such services. He also compared the AI plan to past landmark reforms won by the global labor movement, such as winning a minimum wage and fixed working week. The PM also said that without regulations of this sort, Australia will effectively outsource its security to big tech companies. "If we are always dependent on someone else, somewhere else, we will be vulnerable," he said. The AI policy aims to instead make Australia stronger. Albanese argued that Australians should not see AI as a threat to jobs, but that strong policy can make the technology a means to create new ones - beyond employment created by a short-term datacenter construction boom. The PM wrapped his speech by suggesting AI can stand for "Australia's Interest" as well as "artificial intelligence." ®

View from The Hill: Albanese takes oversight of government's response to AI under his own wing

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is taking direct oversight of the government's handling of Australia's AI rollout by establishing an Office of AI in his own Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Albanese will announce the new office, which starts operation immediately, in a major speech on Wednesday. Extracts were released ahead of delivery. His message will be positive: that handled properly, AI can be made to work in Australia's interests. The address emphasises the whole-of-government approach to be taken to the rapidly developing technology that is presenting vast opportunities, especially for productivity, but also raising widespread concerns on many fronts. These range from potential job losses to issues around data centres. An Essential poll in May showed the considerable suspicion around AI: 36% said it carried more risk than opportunity, with only 22% saying it carried more opportunity than risk; 41% saw the risks and opportunities as about the same. Albanese says the Office of AI will work closely with Industry Minister Tim Ayres, and Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, Andrew Charlton, "to co-ordinate the design of our new Australian Standards and to bring together the work ministers are undertaking across government". Outlining individual ministers' activity, the prime minister says: * Energy Minister Chris Bowen is working with states and territories and energy market bodies * Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has been facilitating consultation on copyright and protection of artists * Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be responsible for AI in the productivity agenda * Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth is liaising with employers, workers and unions * Education Minister Jason Clare is meeting his counterparts on Wednesday to discuss AI's impact in schools "This is in addition to ongoing work in everything from the design of our digital duty of care, to the risks that chatbots pose to children to the intersection of AI and skills and manufacturing, and - importantly - AI in defence and national security," Albanese says. He points out the 2026 National Defence Strategy indicates AI and machine learning hold "the most significant potential for technological disruption" in coming years. "We know that both extremists and state actors already use AI to create propaganda aimed at young people - and to spread disinformation that targets democracies," Albanese says. Defence Minister Richard Marles and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke are working with their agencies - and Australia's Five Eyes Partners - on these national security matters. Australia "will be the first country in the world to bring these issues into a single, national framework," Albanese says. "And getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance." Albanese says that so far the government response has been "issue-by-issue, sector by sector". "But just as government developed co-ordinated approaches for other significant technologies: from civil aviation in the 1920s to genetics in the 1990s, we must do this with AI as well." Former industry minister Ed Husic, who when responsible for the area championed an interventionist rather than light touch approach, on Tuesday again emphasised the need for robust action. "None of these firms will go one out from the other to bring in guardrails to limit the risks, because their investors will ask questions about, well, why are you doing this when others are working without guardrails? "So it really is incumbent on governments to set consistent national rules that protect Australians who already distrust AI from the toughest, hardest risks of generative AI." He also urged restraint on data centre construction, saying there had been a "bit of a frenzy going on" in relation to these builds. "Land gets snapped up that should have been set aside for houses, and we've already got 90,000 workers short in construction," he told Sky . "So, if we are having a situation where data centres are now taking up land for homes, we've got to pump the brakes on this." Next week's ALP national conference will discuss AI, with the unions anxious for job protection. Labor's draft platform for the conference says Should AI adoption lead to the displacement of jobs at a significant scale, Labor will play an active role in an economy-wide transition.

Australia to Impose Energy and Water Guardrails on Data Centers Amid A.I. Boom

Australia will require large data centers powering artificial intelligence to generate as much power as they consume, and ensure that creative professionals retain control over work that may be used to train A.I. systems, in an attempt to set up guardrails governing how the rapidly growing industry will operate in the country. The announcements on Wednesday in a speech by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came as Australia draws significant interest from A.I. companies because of its size and the availability of renewable energy, and as resistance to data centers builds in many parts of the United States and Europe. Major A.I. companies have opened offices or announced investments in Australia in recent months. The Australian government is trying to balance capitalizing on the A.I. boom with setting parameters on a fast-changing industry that has sparked backlash over environmental impacts, energy use and lack of contribution to local economies. "Every country on earth is grappling with these challenges right now. Australia will be the first country in the world to bring these issues into a single, national framework," Mr. Albanese said Wednesday, laying out the standards his government will pursue. The details of what exactly the requirements will look like and how they will be enforced remain to be seen, and the government will need to secure the backing of individual states for its plan. The government said it would introduce legislation on the standards early next year, and establish an "Office of A.I." directly reporting to the prime minister to coordinate implementation. The "Australian Standards for A.I." will include a "legal obligation" for companies to ensure they do not drain the power grid and be as water efficient as possible, the government said. Mr. Albanese also said creators of books, music, art or news in Australia should retain control of the price and value of their work when used to train artificial intelligence systems. "Anything less is theft," he said. "No country has got this right yet." Industry representatives responded cautiously, expressing support for standards while warning against overregulation. "We can't go too far. We can't be too prescriptive, because we are in a race and we are in a competitive contest in that regard," Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia, told reporters. He said he did not agree with imposing mandatory obligations and warned that being out of step with other jurisdictions could mean Australia loses out on the immense investment being poured into the industry. In the United States, backlash against data centers has prompted dozens of proposed moratoriums at the state and federal level, with New York this week becoming the first state to halt the construction of the largest data centers for a year. The European Union has rolled out an "A.I. Act" mandating transparency, copyright and public safety measures in the industry, under which regulators are set to begin imposing penalties beginning in August. Here is how tech companies responded to Australia's announcement: * Microsoft said in a statement that it supported Mr. Albanese's vision and that the company believed A.I. "should be built and applied in ways that reflect a country's values and serve its national interest." * OpenAI said in a statement that Australia was a priority market and that it was "engaging constructively" with the government, creators and industry. * Anthropic said in a statement that it respected the process laid out by the prime minister for establishing Australia's A.I. framework, and that it took its responsibility to meet the terms seriously. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems, which the companies have denied.) Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, said Mr. Albanese was saying all the right things to assuage public concerns about the industry, but that many of the specifics of the regulations still needed to be worked out. "The prime minister was clearly on top of the issues that are troubling the Australian public, and troubling the publics around the world," he said. "The devil will be in the details exactly what they do." For Australia to capitalize fully on A.I., it will need to go beyond attracting data center investments to building its own homegrown companies, models and work force, Mr. Walsh said. Mr. Albanese likened the efforts to set standards for the industry to his government's world-first social media law banning the use of the services for children younger than 16, saying it was important to get ahead of the technological shifts profoundly altering societies and economies. "Imagine if the world had acted a decade ago. Imagine the difference it would have made if these limits had been put in place when the world first grasped the risks of these platforms," he said of the social media law. He added: "That is the opportunity, and the choice, we have now with artificial intelligence."

Australia sets up a national Office of AI

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has established a national Office of AI within his department and promised "the strongest possible protection" for Australian creatives, alongside new binding rules for data centres. He said the copyright reforms would not be legislated until early next year. Australia has set up a national Office of AI. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also promised new copyright protection for creatives, in a speech in Sydney. Albanese announced the plan on Wednesday at the University of Sydney, the Guardian reported. His government billed it as a major speech on AI. It covered copyright, data-centre rules, and a new central office to coordinate AI policy. The Office of AI will sit within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, with immediate effect. The government called Australia the first country to bring AI's economic, social, security, and environmental issues under one framework. The office will work with industry and innovation minister Tim Ayres and assistant science minister Andrew Charlton. It will design Australian AI standards and coordinate work across government. Copyright and creatives On copyright, Albanese promised "the strongest possible protection" for Australian creatives. He said using their work to train AI without permission or payment would amount to theft. "Let me make this crystal clear: not everything produced in Australia is up for grabs," he said. "Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists must retain ownership and control of their work." "No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist's control," he added. "Anything less is theft." The government has ruled out a text and data mining exemption. That rule would have let AI firms train models on Australian content without paying. Cabinet is still discussing copyright reform. The government will not legislate it until early next year. New rules for data centres Albanese also set out binding national standards for data centres. The rules would cover where operators can build them and their power and water use. He said they should not compete with housing for land, or raise electricity prices for consumers. The next generation of large centres would face a legal obligation to underwrite new power supply. They would pay their full share of grid connection, so no costs pass to homes or businesses. They would also have to put at least as much energy into the grid as they take out. The facilities would have to generate renewable energy, cut water use, and lift energy efficiency. The government said the framework would fast-track investment decisions. It would also set nationally consistent rules on how and where operators build them. Industry and political response Annabelle Herd, chief executive of the Australian Recording Industry Association, welcomed the speech. She said her members wanted to sign licensing deals with AI companies. Jeff Bleich, general counsel at Anthropic, said the company respected the process the prime minister had set out. He said Anthropic took seriously its responsibility to meet the government's terms. The firm had earlier cited Australia's policy uncertainty as an impediment to investment in the national market. Microsoft Australia president Jane Livesey said users would embrace AI if they trusted it was "safe and well-governed." Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia, welcomed the speech. He warned against rules going "too far" and putting Australia out of step with other countries. Former industry minister Ed Husic criticised the pace. On ABC radio, he said the government had responded faster to a food-tampering scare than to high-risk AI. "We can't have two terms of parliament pass without having some concrete mandated guardrails," he said. Albanese compared the moment to the arrival of social media. He said governments should have set tougher rules on tech companies earlier. The government aims to legislate the changes early next year.

Australia tells AI data centres to put back more power than they take out

Anthony Albanese announced an Office of AI, net-generator rules for data centres, and the strongest copyright language any government has used. Anthony Albanese has told the AI industry that Australian books, music, and journalism are not free training data, and that any large data centre built in the country will have to put more electricity into the grid than it draws out. Neither of those things is law yet. The prime minister used a speech at the University of Sydney on Wednesday to announce an Office of AI inside his own department, effective immediately, plus Australian Standards covering energy, water, copyright, and siting. It lands two days after Anthropic and others were reported to be weighing tens of billions in data centre investment against a copyright carve-out Canberra had already ruled out. The energy obligation is the sharpest thing in the speech. Operators of the next generation of large data centres would be required to underwrite new power supply, pay their full share of grid connection so that no costs land on homes or businesses, and put at least as much energy into the grid as they take out of it. "To be net-generators, not net-users," Albanese said. That means funding new renewable generation and firming rather than joining a queue for someone else's electrons, a heavier ask than anything hyperscalers face in Europe or the US, where grids are already buckling under connection requests. Water got similar treatment. Operators would have to minimise water use, maximise energy efficiency, and pay for any additional water infrastructure they need, on a continent Albanese called both the sunniest and the driest on earth. Copyright got the rhetoric. "Let me make this crystal clear: not everything produced in Australia is up for grabs," he said. "Not at all." Australian writers, musicians, artists, and journalists "must retain ownership and control of their work", and no company should train on it without the artist's control of its price and value. "Anything less, is theft." What the speech did not contain was a mechanism. The policy has been read as obliging AI firms to reach agreements with local artists and media before using their content, but Albanese never said how that control would be enforced, and the attorney-general's consultation on copyright is still open. The distance between announced and legislated is the story here. Nothing unveiled on Wednesday binds anyone: the Office of AI is an executive creation, the standards go to National Cabinet next month, and legislation is only targeted for introduction early next year. Albanese was candid that he does not want an exhaustive rulebook. "It is not our goal to try and legislate for every possible eventuality or risk," he said. That is a lighter touch than the language around it implies, and closer to the ground Brussels has been retreating to than to the AI Act as drafted. His claim that Australia "will be the first country in the world to bring these issues into a single, national framework" is doing work it cannot carry. The EU adopted the AI Act in 2024 and built an AI Office to run it, as legal scholars noted within hours. Reaction divided on schedule. Greenpeace Australia's Joe Rafalowicz called the facilities "water-guzzling energy vampires", accusing the government of rolling out the red carpet while leaving them unregulated until at least 2027. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the office would just create more bureaucracy. New York, hours before Albanese spoke, halted large data centre builds for a year, the pause Australia has now declined to take. Washington is still arguing over who pays when data centres raise power bills, the question Albanese thinks he has answered in advance. Anthropic, which told Treasurer Jim Chalmers that its A$21.6bn Australian investment depended on copyright certainty, said it respected the process and would meet the terms the government sets. That is a company waiting for the fine print. APRA AMCOS chief executive Dean Ormston welcomed the certainty but said the Office of AI "must seriously interrogate the numbers AI platforms are putting on the table". The numbers are not on the table yet. Neither is the bill.

Albanese's AI speech was a good start. Now Australia must confront these bigger questions | Julianne Schultz

The PM's vision must look beyond datacentres and copyright to questions of capability, security and public benefit Every new technology has a tipping point, when it speeds towards ubiquity, changing the world as we once knew it. In the past six months, artificial intelligence, in its various forms, has crossed that threshold. You can measure it in the billions of dollars being invested; the hope-tinged-with-fear decrees from presidents, prime ministers, Nobel laureates and even the pope. It promises to be the most transformative technological change since the introduction of electricity, touching everyone and everything as "AI companies monetize the collective knowledge of the human race". It will challenge centuries-old notions of national sovereignty and human autonomy in ways not seen since imperial colonisation was at its peak. Will Australia become, as the John Curtin Research Centre asked in its May review of AI, a "cloud hostage" - physically hosted, legally governed and operationally controlled from abroad? For most people, it still feels a bit abstract. What does it mean when Demis Hassabis, the Nobel prize-winning founder of Google DeepMind, says it's like the Industrial Revolution times 10, at 10 times the speed? Or Dario Amodi, head of Anthropic, declares half of all entry-level jobs will disappear in a few years? Disruption, chaos, exploitation, mass unemployment and loss of sovereignty, or opportunity and transformation as once impossible problems are solved. Last week, before Anthony Albanese delivered his landmark speech, a series of personal encounters brought it home to me that AI is no longer a hallucinating plaything. A colleague explained how her workforce now included more AI agents than human beings - agents with names and personalities who sent emails and responded to questions, but apart from tech support, didn't need to be paid. Agents, who with the right prompts and supervision, could analyse years of data in a flash, and advise humans on what to say in negotiations. They were so good that before hiring a human, the threshold question in her business was: could an AI agent do it? In many cases the answer was yes - and better. A retired academic had found that Anthropic Fable was an extraordinarily efficient research assistant. He briefed it to distill and compare four recent Australian government-commissioned reports about racism and why so little had been done to implement the findings. AI suggested that the answer was the uneven distribution of power. Those with cultural and economic power were more successful - so when tackling racism, the disadvantage of the least powerful remained entrenched. Now there's something to remember. The prime minister's speech on Wednesday showed how seriously the Australian government is taking this. Albanese spoke clearly and cogently, with more than a touch of Australian exceptionalism. He outlined processes that, if properly implemented, could eliminate the worst mistakes of the past. Standing in front of a display of Australian native flowers, he talked about sovereignty and the need to ensure that the benefits of AI investment did not stop with the building of datacentres, to add value beyond the land grab. "We cannot settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction; we must create a new generation of good secure jobs," he said. Most attention has been focused on building the datacentres needed to power AI and on the protection of intellectual property and copyright. These crucial questions must not be dodged. But there are bigger questions that have not been asked: Is Australia prepared to take advantage of the technology to develop its sovereign data capacity and unique areas of expertise? Can it protect its sovereign security in defence, infrastructure and communications? Will it be able to ensure that the output improves the quality of life and public services for all its citizens and residents? Are there plans for public AI infrastructure so that local researchers and innovators can also reach for the stars? Investment by international companies is important, but if we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past, it's not sufficient. Over recent months, both Canada and the UK have announced major multi-billion-dollar investments in strategic AI capacity. Public money is being used to help fund local ventures that protect data sovereignty and provide scope for development by more than the big five transnational corporations. Albanese skated over the debates in his scene-setting speech. But they are alive around the world. The moral challenges of AI, described so graphically by Pope Leo, need serious attention. As do the profound ethical challenges that are leading AI workers to join unions or resign as their companies' owners cut questionable deals with the military-surveillance complex. Remarkably, there is even serious discussion in the US, of all places, about developing sovereign wealth funds to help those whose jobs disappear, possibly funded by government taking equity in trillion-dollar AI corporations. These structural questions are being flagged at the edges of the policy debate here, but need to be taken seriously, as Albanese said: "If we hang back, or stand still, this will run right over us." It will be a busy six months to turn this vision into legislation and reality. The triteness of Angus Taylor's response, that the only jobs that would be created were in the prime minister's office, missed the weight of the moment and the huge risks of getting it wrong.

Australian PM says to enact laws to govern AI

Sydney (AFP) - Australia will enact laws to regulate how artificial intelligence data centres use power and water, and to protect creative copyright, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. In a landmark speech setting out his government's policies, Albanese sought to allay public concern over AI, saying it could be adopted in a way that enhanced the national interest. The centre-left leader said he would meet Australia's state and territory leaders next month to discuss the proposed new laws, which would be introduced next year to build trust in AI and protect national security. Australia had led other countries in imposing limits on social media use for children, but the challenge to shape AI in Australia's interest was greater and demanded action now, he said. "If we hang back and stand still this will just run right over the top of us," he said in the speech at the University of Sydney. "Our great country can be much more than a data warehouse for AI products made overseas." Albanese's announcement comes after it emerged this week that US startup Anthropic has lobbied Australian officials to change copyright laws to assist the training of AI models. Musicians, writers and publishers have urged the government to resist such pressure and protect their work. Australian creative content was not "up for grabs", Albanese said. "No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist's control... anything less is theft," he said. The new standards would set clear legal obligations for large data centres, requiring them to put more power into the electricity grid than they take out, minimising water usage and ensuring they don't compete for land with housing. Investment in data centres was the largest contributor to the country's economic growth in the three months to March, according to government figures. Albanese said the government had not yet seen the impact of AI on the Australian jobs market. "We should not treat AI as a threat to good jobs. We should use it as an instrument to create them," he said. The government will elevate its response to artificial intelligence with a dedicated office in his department to oversee policy. "Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance," he said.

Anthony Albanese's AI vision scores high on vibes but the devil will be in the detail. And there is one glaring omission ... | David Pocock

When the PM talks about new laws applying to the 'next generation of large-scale datacentres' what does he mean? Expectations were high as the prime minister took the stage at the University of Sydney on Wednesday to outline a pivot in his government's approach to artificial intelligence. The vibes of the speech seem to have lived up to the hype but it fell short on policy detail. Before the address there were concerns about the government's hands-off approach to AI regulation. So Anthony Albanese's commitment to introducing laws that ensure Australian creatives retain control over their work - including its value and where it is used - are very welcome. Clearly the government heard creatives loud and clear. Their work and intellectual property must not be used as a bargaining chip. This is an encouraging sign that the government is staring down intense pressure from global AI giants to give them unfettered - and unpaid-for - access to the works of Australian musicians, writers, journalists and artists. But as is often the case in politics, the devil is in the detail. While the sentiment is good, we need to see the policy and legislation that will underpin it. There are cabinet documents that tell a different story to the speech - one where the prime minister was set to sponsor a submission exploring "legal avenues" to give AI companies access to Australians' work in return for massive datacentre investment. New laws have now been flagged that, according to the prime minister, will ensure key community concerns about water and energy use are addressed by something stronger than the current voluntary "expectations". Laws that ensure households and businesses won't pay higher prices as a result of datacentre energy use. While the speech sought to reassure and allay fears, it also raised questions. When the prime minister talks about new laws applying to the "next generation of large-scale datacentres" what does he mean? How will "large" be defined? And what constitutes the "next generation"? When will these national standards apply and how many datacentres will be built between now and then? Bear in mind there are at least 100 datacentres under construction, with at least that many more planned. Where is the plan to build Australian sovereign AI capability? To ensure local companies and researchers have access to the vast new computing power to be housed on our shores? This is critical if we want to truly share in the benefits over the long term. There's also a contradiction in the government's commitment to protecting creatives while at the same time wanting to attract the big multinational "hyperscalers" to build hundreds of billions of dollars worth of datacentres here, given that the sticking point for the hyperscalers seems to be copyright. And, for all the talk about secure jobs, where is the investment in retraining workers? Singapore is investing $1bn annually in retraining and setting workers up in AI-resilient careers. Where is that kind of funding commitment for Australians? Without a sharp focus on this now, we risk the speed of AI adoption and displacement of jobs overtaking our preparedness to transition people and keep them in paid work. There was no mention of the construction workforce shortages we face. Datacentre construction is already diverting a strained workforce away from building new homes. We can't afford to see housing completions continue to decline and ignore the warnings from large-scale residential developers that a lack of workers is one of the biggest barriers to delivering the new homes Australians desperately need. Information about the exact location of datacentres operating, under construction and being planned in Australia is hard to come by. Erin Brockovich has done incredible and extensive work to build a map of existing and proposed datacentres in the US. Her efforts have shown some of this information seems to be deliberately concealed. What we do know is communities don't want them in densely populated areas. Careful planning and genuine consultation is needed to ensure datacentres are located appropriately and not just foisted on people living in the outer suburbs. And perhaps the largest hole in the prime minister's speech was any mention of tax. Not a word about how we will ensure we capture the long-term financial benefits from becoming a global datacentre destination. Our government must not repeat the mistakes of the resources boom. The last thing we need is to fail to capture a fair return on AI datacentre development as we did on gas. Multinational gas companies are masters at tax minimisation and offshoring profit but when it comes to the big tech companies it's clearly a case of "hold my beer". This is a case of two things being true. The prime minister articulated an ambitious vision for Australia as a world leader on AI. He said he wants to protect creatives and safeguard society, the environment and the economy. He should be commended for that. At the same time, it's unclear how he plans to achieve those ambitious aims. There are many parts of the AI story he did not address. It's our job, as parliamentarians and citizens, to keep demanding answers to those questions. We know the change that's already upon us has the potential to change the way we do everything. We have to get this right.

Where's the money? Government told to fund local AI promises

The Albanese government must invest significantly more money to help create world-leading artificial intelligence technology in Australia, rather than setting policies that will entrench the dominance of US-based giants, local entrepreneurs, investors, academics and policy experts have warned. Industry insiders largely praised a high-profile speech by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday, which promised to legislate requirements on AI data centre companies and encourage development of sovereign capability. However, questions are being raised about how the government will back up the rhetoric.

Albanese's AI plan is admirable - but will face tech giants more powerful than most national governments

Challenges of regulating social media or stopping hate speech show these firms can set their own terms and prices for countries like Australia Anthony Albanese took a trip back in time during his much anticipated speech on artificial intelligence on Wednesday. Seeking to harness the momentous change bearing down on our lives, the prime minister told an audience at the University of Sydney that his government would keep pace with AI, even seeking to "get out in front" of the technological tidal wave. He likened the moment to when, as a newly minted graduate, he was employed as a Commonwealth Bank clerk, charged with convincing customers to ditch paper passbooks for a keycard and a "hole in the wall". Such is the force of change being driven by AI, Labor MPs have been hearing for months from anxious constituents, business and trade unions that it was past time for the government to get involved. Datacentre developments are already roiling local communities around the country. Albanese said he would work with state premiers on new rules to carefully manage planning controls for the massive facilities, ensuring they don't take up land needed for housing and don't dominate local energy systems. Operators will be required to pay for new water infrastructure needed to cool the facilities and surging demand won't be allowed to push up household bills. After a meeting of national cabinet next month and the creation of a new office for AI within his department, Albanese will push parliament to consider new legislation in early 2027. He declared the country must be more than just a "data warehouse for AI products made overseas" and should benefit from Australian innovations. He promised new standards and speedier decision making to help foster the social licence he believes AI so badly needs. The approach is vintage Albanese. He believes a cautious and methodical approach has delivered better policy for Labor, even while critics accuse him of being timid and too slow. Ahead of Albanese's speech, the former Labor minister Ed Husic, who had argued for a broad new AI act before being dumped from cabinet, warned the legal approach to AI looked like Swiss cheese. Labor, he said, must not simply deliver a "fancier cheeseboard", urging a comprehensive response. But the reality is Australia won't be able to direct much of the activity of global tech giants like Anthropic, Microsoft, Google or OpenAI. The challenges of regulating social media, stopping hate speech or curbing child sexual abuse images show these firms are more powerful than most national governments and can set terms, and prices, for countries like Australia. On the public's fear of widespread job losses, Labor might be similarly hamstrung. The potential of a general use technology like AI will be pervasive across modern life. Governments simply cannot legislate or mandate use to realistically address technological progress. But one area in which Albanese has promised "the strongest possible protection" is Australia's copyright regime. Ruling out a text and data exemption for AI proprietors, he said the work of writers, film-makers, musicians and journalists was precious and must never be on the menu for hungry AI models. "Anything less is theft," he warned, apparently staring down companies that claim restrictions on the use of Australian content could be a barrier to billions of dollars in new investments. Such moves will protect and promote Australian culture, and livelihoods in creative industries and the media. Australia has agency and sovereignty over some of the decisions needed to manage the coming wave of AI, but pretending the government can direct much more than that would be like barracking for bank tellers in an online world.

Missing piece in PM's AI speech was sovereign capacity strategy

We're unlikely to compete with the US and China on frontier models. But if the world really goes south, we would benefit from building and training sovereign models. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first major speech on artificial intelligence on Wednesday emphatically, if belatedly, elevated AI to where it belongs as a national priority. In particular, he made the crucial declaration that the government is serious about bringing frontier AI investment to Australia, indicating it was our best path to sovereignty and economic resilience.

'Not up for grabs': Albanese establishes AI office and vows to protect Australian creatives from copyright 'theft'

The PM lays out a plan for datacentre development and rejects prospect tech companies will be given free use of Australian data Anthony Albanese has promised "the strongest possible protection" for Australian creatives against misuse of their work by artificial intelligence models, warning it would be "theft" if writers, artists and musicians didn't have control of their work or receive payment for its use. Amid growing community concern about large energy-intensive datacentres, the federal government will also set strict new rules for the facilities, including where they can be built, that they shouldn't compete for land with housing, their power and water use, and that they don't increase electricity prices for consumers. In a major speech on AI, the prime minister announced the establishment of an office of AI and rejected the prospect of large companies like OpenAI and Anthropic being given free use of Australian data - a development warmly welcomed by creatives including music industry group ARIA - but questions remain about how the government will modernise copyright laws and regulate datacentres. "Let me make this crystal clear: not everything produced in Australia is up for grabs," Albanese said on Wednesday. "Australian writers, musicians, artists and journalists must retain ownership and control of their work. Our laws will spell that out, plain as day." Labor has long ruled out giving a text and data mining exemption allowing AI firms to train their large language models on Australian content without compensation to creators, but there has been lobbying from big tech and an industry proposal for special copyright exemptions. Cabinet discussions on copyright reforms are continuing, with a diversity of views among senior ministers, but Albanese's speech was the strongest assurance yet that journalists, musicians, artists and writers would be protected in the age of AI. "No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist's control. That includes the artist's control of the price and value of their work," Albanese said. "Anything less is theft." Annabel Herd, CEO of ARIA, was relieved to hear Albanese's guarantees. She said groups like hers were keen to sign licensing deals with AI companies to ensure artists were fairly compensated for the use of their work. "We don't know exactly what most of these AI companies want, they haven't made a public case about what the problem is, but there isn't one," she told Guardian Australia. "[Albanese's speech] should be a very strong message to the AI companies, they should pick up the phone and start licensing ... we are very good and efficient at licensing at scale. "We'd like get on with it, not be stuck in this ongoing no man's land." Jeff Bleich, Anthropic's general counsel, said the company "respect the process articulated by the Prime Minister today for establishing Australia's AI framework and take seriously Anthropic's responsibility to meet the terms set out by the Australian Government for AI developers". Ahead of meetings with senior cabinet ministers earlier this year, Anthropic cited Australia's policy uncertainty as a major impediment to new investments in the country. Microsoft Australia president, Jane Livesey, said users would embrace the technology if "people trust that AI is safe and well-governed". Comparing AI to the rise of social media, Albanese said governments should have placed tougher rules on tech companies when online harms first became known. The government would legislate a set of binding standards for AI companies and datacentres, building on existing expectations around energy usage, he said. That framework is intended to help fast-track decisions around major investments and construction, as well as set nationally-consistent mandatory rules for how and where such centres can be built. Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black welcomed the speech, but warned against regulation going "too far" or being "too prescriptive" in case it stifled business. "We don't want to see ourselves get out of step with international counterparts, and that as a consequence, we would lose investment," he said after the speech. The changes will not be legislated until early next year. Some experts have criticised the government for not moving faster to regulate a rapidly-growing sector - former industry minister Ed Husic, speaking on ABC Radio before Albanese's speech, claimed the Australian government had delivered "a faster response to dangerous strawberries as opposed to the dangers of high risk AI". "We can't have two terms of parliament pass without having some concrete mandated guardrails." A critical point of tension in government deliberations has been balancing the potential economic benefits of AI companies with rising voter concerns about suburban datacentres and a low level of community trust in the new technology. Labor MPs including Sam Rae, Dan Repacholi and Alice Jordan-Baird have conceded concerns in their electorates about local datacentre development. Albanese said the national standards would set rules for the location and energy use of datacentres, declaring: "We have more than enough room for new datacentres, without them competing with new housing. "We will create a legal obligation for the next generation of large-scale datacentres to underwrite new power supply. To pay their full share of grid connection, so no costs are passed on to homes or businesses. And to put at least as much energy into our grid as they take out of it." Datacentres would also be required to generate renewable energy , minimise water use, and maximise energy efficiency. Belinda Dennett, CEO of Data Centres Australia, said she was pleased to hear Albanese back the economic benefits for more AI investment. She was also unfazed by the new standards, saying datacentres were already pursuing renewables and sustainability.

PM right to seize the AI debate. Now he must balance risk and growth

Anthony Albanese wants to lead the national conversation on AI. But he is managing political risk and cannot forget AI's huge opportunities. Towards the end of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's landmark speech on the nation's artificial intelligence policy on Wednesday, he told a story about his first job after high school, working at the Commonwealth Bank branch on the grounds of the University of Sydney. Albanese's task was to speak to customers using old-style account passbooks and "convince them of the need to use this new contraption called an ATM, a hole in the wall".

Anthony Albanese promises fast-track approvals for datacentres to shore up AI investment

PM to declare Australia the first country worldwide to bring economic, social, security and environmental issues from AI under single office in major speech Anthony Albanese says the federal government will introduce faster approval processes for AI projects, including datacentres, across Australia, seeking to shore up investor certainty and maintain community confidence in the rapidly advancing technology. Announcing the creation of a new office of AI to be established within his department in a major speech on Wednesday, the prime minister will declare Australia is set to become the first country in the world to bring the economic, social, national security and environmental issues stemming from AI into a single, national framework. Excepts of the speech provided to Guardian Australia did not detail the government's plans on copyright laws, as Labor comes under intense pressure from AI companies seeking exemptions or carve outs to train large language models. "Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance," Albanese will tell an event. "It also imposes an important discipline on government." The speech - set to be closely watched at home and abroad - comes as Labor seeks to better grapple with the societal freight train that is AI, including growing angst about massive datacentre infrastructure, energy systems and protection for intellectual property of Australian writers, musicians, film-makers and journalists. AI platforms are already preparing pitches for a significant expansion of the government's own GovAI artificial intelligence service, established to drive secure and ethical adoption of new technologies in the Australian public service. The finance department launched a new multi-stage procurement process in recent days, asking for industry to develop new tools for service delivery and policymaking, including AI chat, already being used to boost efficiency within government departments. Talking up the social licence of AI and seeking to reassure workers about adequate guardrails to govern investment and development, Albanese will say AI requires a coordinated government approach, akin to the development of civil aviation in the 1920s and genetics in the 1990s. The new office of AI, to be created within the department of the prime minister and cabinet with immediate effect, is expected to work with the minister for industry and innovation, Tim Ayres, and the assistance science and technology minister, Andrew Charlton. It will design new Australian AI standards and coordinate cross-government work. Albanese will point to work on AI already under way within the federal government, including on the national security risks and necessary protection being dramatically expanded. The newly released national defence strategy labelled AI and machine learning as holding "the most significant potential for technological disruption" facing the country in the years ahead. "We know that both extremists and state actors already use AI to create propaganda aimed at young people, and to spread disinformation that targets democracies," Albanese will say, according to preview excerpts. The defence minister, Richard Marles, and the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, are already working closely with national security agencies and Australia's Five Eyes intelligence allies on the possible threat. Ayres said on Tuesday that the speech would address concerns from AI companies about Australian copyright laws and their desire to use Australian content to train large models. Ahead of meetings with senior cabinet ministers earlier this year, AI giant Anthropic cited Australia's policy uncertainty as a major impediment to new investments in the country. "Tomorrow, the prime minister will have something to say about all of this," Ayres said. "We have made it very clear as a government that there won't be a text and data mining exception in Australia, but we are working hard to secure these investments because they are in the Australian national interest." The Climate Council chief executive, Amanda McKenzie, called on Labor to align the expansion in datacentres with climate action. "Datacentres are hungry for energy," she said. "Governments must proactively manage the surging demand, making sure that they are powered with clean renewable power. "If they don't, there is a big risk that they will push up pollution from coal and gas at a time when we're already living through more frequent floods, and ferocious fires."

Albanese hits data centres with grid mandate in major AI pivot

The Albanese government will force data centres to generate more power than they take from the grid and minimise water usage to keep household bills from rising and is also exploring a new copyright regime designed for artificial intelligence training. In a landmark speech at the University of Sydney titled AI in Australia's interests, Albanese reversed Labor's hands-off approach to regulation of artificial intelligence by announcing new Australian standards on AI, and a new Office of AI within his own department.

Albanese sets up Office of AI

In a major speech in Sydney on Wednesday Mr Albanese will argue Australia can harness the benefits of AI while ensuring it reflects the "country's values". "Australia will be the first country in the world to bring these issues into a single, national framework," he will say. "Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance." As part of the announcement, Mr Albanese has established the Office of AI within his own department, elevating oversight of AI in the government. The new office will work with Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres and Assistant Minister for Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton. Mr Albanese had previously scrapped the AI approach set up by former industry minister Ed Husic, replacing him in the role with Mr Ayres. In response to the AI announcement, deputy opposition leader Jane Hume told Sky News on Wednesday that the Albanese government risked overregulating the sector. "AI presents an enormous opportunity for Australia. It's potentially that next great productivity leap," she said. "My concern is more about whether Labor stifles the innovation that comes with AI, rather than allowing it to flourish. "One of the great inconsistencies that has come from Labor in this, is whether unions should have a right of veto over whether private sector companies can adopt AI. "Can you imagine if unions had have had a right to veto over where a private company could adopt personal computers or use of the internet, or use of email." Ms Hume's warning comes after the Maritime Union of Australia demanded a 28-hour work week for the same pay to compensate for AI taking jobs. Speaking ahead of Mr Albanese's address, Labor MP Julian Hill told Sky News the new office was about more than creating more bureaucracy. "This technology is transformative and there's enormous economic and productivity opportunities for us to harness for Australia. But it's also fraught with risk," he said. Mr Hill said the government wanted to ensure AI "serves the interests of Australia and Australians, not the other way around". He said the Office of AI would help preserve long-standing Australian legal protections and social norms as artificial intelligence became more widespread. Liberal MP Aaron Violi said the Prime Minister should have established the AI office years ago, saying Mr Albanese was "all talk and no action". "These are the big discussions and they should have already been had," Mr Violi told Sky News. "It is so disappointing that it has taken so long for the Prime Minister to acknowledge this is an issue... AI impacts everything. "There always should have been a national co-ordinated approach, not an ad hoc approach, which changes when ministers change." Under the changes, Energy Minister Chris Bowen will work with states, territories and energy market bodies on AI's role in the electricity system. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will oversee consultation on copyright protections and safeguards for artists whose work may be used to train AI models. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will oversee AI's contribution to the government's productivity agenda.

Albanese to compare pivotal moment in AI to renewable energy transition as he outlines approach

Labor sources say the PM will discuss safety concerns in speech this week but will not provide an update on copyright reforms to protect artists Anthony Albanese will describe the progress of AI as an inflection point for society on par with the renewable energy transition, but is not expected to detail progress on copyright reforms to protect creative industries. The prime minister will deliver a highly anticipated speech in Sydney on Wednesday to address growing concerns around social license and the necessary policy guardrails for AI, datacentres, and the ability of big tech to profit from Australian intellectual property. The speech comes as newly released government documents show AI giant Anthropic cited Australia's policy uncertainty as a major impediment to new investments. According to Labor sources, Albanese is expected to focus his remarks on safety and compliance considerations around AI, including building trust in the community about workforce changes, defence implications, and development of energy-intensive infrastructure such as datacentres. Labor is planning to take a more active role in the rollout of the rapidly growing sector, which is potentially worth billions to the economy, but has observed heated community division over datacentres overseas. Insiders compared the policy challenges presented by AI as similar to those presented by social media, and said planning for the future now will be more effective than waiting for the wave of technological change to arrive. Polling shows Australians are split on how they view AI. The Guardian Essential poll in May found 36% of voters thought AI carried more risk than opportunity, while 41% saw risk and opportunity about the same. Just 22% thought AI had more opportunity than risk. An invitation to Albanese's speech, seen by Guardian Australia, says it will include discussion of "the challenges and opportunities" of AI, as well as "the responsibility this creates for government". "Every bit as importantly, we can bring our enduring values of fairness and opportunity to this task," the invitation says. "To ensure that AI earns its social licence, driving growth without undercutting conditions, fragmenting our society or damaging our environment." Labor sources said the speech was the next step in a whole-of-government project, after months of intense lobbying and different views among senior ministers about how best to navigate policy and political pitfalls. The assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy, Andrew Charlton, and the industry minister, Tim Ayres, have been leading development of the policy, with other senior figures closely engaged in recent days. The health minister, Mark Butler, said Wednesday's speech would be "a blend" of guardrails and principles, especially around safety risks, data and privacy. "Are we harnessing all of the opportunities with every wave of technology? But are we also making sure that everyone gets the benefits, not just a few? And with this technology, maybe more than most, I think people are also focused on managing the risks and the safety potential for this technology," he told Channel Nine. "Stepping through that, the benefits, the opportunities, equity issues and managing risk, I think, is the focus of our government." Documents released under freedom of information laws reveal Treasury officials warned Jim Chalmers that Anthropic would complain that copyright rules were "impeding the development of data centres" in Australia, ahead of a meeting with the company's chief executive, Dario Amodei, in April. Briefing notes prepared by Chalmers' department ahead of the meeting predicted that Anthropic would claim their investment "is contingent on clarity of copyright settings" and that they wanted "certainty over their liability to rights holders". Officials said Anthropic had warned that while they could do deals with larger rights holders, a "long tail" of smaller rights holders "impedes efforts to identify and purchase licencing rights". They recommended Chalmers "strongly encourage" Anthropic to engage with rights holders and the attorney general's department, which is leading the copyright work, "to ensure creative and media industries are fairly compensated for the use of their material in Al training within Australia's robust copyright framework". The government has ruled out including AI companies in its News Bargaining Incentive, where social media platforms are required to either sign commercial deals with news outlets or pay a larger levy which would be distributed by the government. Senior ministers insisted on Monday creative industries would not be sold out under the AI plans. Ahead of a separate meeting with Amodei, Ayres was urged by his department to tell Anthropic that "it is essential that benefits accrue to Australians and the Australian economy from AI investments". FoI documents for Ayres' meeting - where he was to be joined by Albanese - state that the government "want an enduring collaboration with Anthropic".

Albanese seizes control of AI agenda in major policy pivot

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has seized control of the government's artificial intelligence agenda, installing a new Office of AI inside his department. In a speech at the University of Sydney titled "AI in Australia's interests", Albanese on Wednesday will outline new policies on AI that include Australian standards for the technology and the Labor government's expectations of how big technology companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft and Google will have to act to "earn" their social licence.

Albanese government to launch national AI office

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to announce the establishment of a new artificial intelligence office to coordinate AI policy across the Australian government. The Prime Minister is scheduled to deliver a speech on artificial intelligence in Sydney on Wednesday, titled "AI in Australia's Interests", during which he will launch the new initiative. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy is set to liken the plan to the under-16 social media ban. It comes as the Coalition pushes for rapid development of AI technology as a "national security imperative" due to a rise in foreign interference. "AI touches on the work of every Minister and Department, so it is only natural that, up until now, our response has been issue-by-issue, sector by sector," an excerpt of Mr Albanese's speech reads. "But just as government developed co-ordinated approaches for other significant technologies: from civil aviation in the 1920s to genetics in the 1990s, we must do this with AI as well. "Effective today, I am establishing The Office of AI in my own Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. "It will work closely with the Minister for Industry and Innovation, Tim Ayres, and the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, Andrew Charlton, to co-ordinate the design of our new Australian Standards and to bring together the work Ministers are undertaking across government." Mr Albanese will add the government is implementing regulations requiring digital platforms to take reasonable measures to protect young people from harm, including the risks associated with chatbots. "The Minister for Climate Change and Energy is working with his state and territory counterparts and energy market bodies, the Attorney-General has been facilitating consultation on copyright and artist protections where AI training is involved, the Treasurer will have responsibility for the pivotal role of AI in our productivity agenda, the Minister for Employment is engaging with employers, workers and unions on AI's role in the workplace, and the Education Minister is meeting with his counterparts today to discuss the impact of AI in schools," he will say. "This is in addition to ongoing work in everything from the design of our digital duty of care, to the risks that chatbots pose to children, to the intersection of AI and skills and manufacturing, and - importantly - AI in defence and national security. "This year's National Defence Strategy identified AI and machine learning as holding 'the most significant potential for technological disruption' in the years ahead. "We know that both extremists and state actors already use AI to create propaganda aimed at young people - and to spread disinformation that targets democracies." The move is likely to spark debate, with shadow defence minister James Paterson recently advising against over-regulating AI as he declared winning the artificial intelligence race was a "national security imperative". Senator Paterson warned foreign authoritarian states such as China, Russia and Iran were undermining public support for AI in Western nations. "The nations who secure sovereign AI will not just win commercial and economic advantages but a strategic and military edge too," he told The Australian. "So we should not be surprised if foreign authoritarian states try to throw sand in the gears of AI adoption among their potential rivals. "Australia should not allow foreign interference to get in the way of the immense opportunities offered by data centre investment and the sovereign AI capability that comes with it."

Australia Plans to Govern Use of Water, Power for AI

SYDNEY--Australia plans to require data centers to underwrite their electricity and water supplies, as the government seeks to govern the growing artificial-intelligence industry. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the government will soon introduce a set of standards for AI providers to "ensure AI works in Australia's interests." The new standards will set out rules for large data centers-- including a legal obligation to source their own new power supply, pay their full share of connection costs so consumers' energy bills aren't affected, reduce power when needed to strengthen the power grid, and be as water efficient as possible, Albanese said Wednesday. Governments across Australia will also work together to ensure large data centers "are built in the most appropriate locations, and with input from local communities," he added. Albanese also said the Office of AI will be established within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to accelerate implementation of the industry standards on a national level. The national cabinet will discuss the new standards in August, with legislation expected early next year. "The implementation of these standards will deliver a simple, consistent regulatory framework for large data centers and AI training and be the first to be legislated by a government worldwide," Albanese said. The government is also setting out to ensure protection for the intellectual capital of artists and media, with laws preventing companies using creative works to train AI without the artist's control, he added. "This framework is about protecting our national interests and ensuring certainty for growth, jobs and investment," Albanese said. "If we set our national standards high, then we can make AI stand for Australia's interests," he added.

Australian PM says to enact laws to govern AI

Australia will enact laws to regulate how artificial intelligence data centers use power and water, and to protect creative copyright, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. In a landmark speech setting out his government's policies, Albanese sought to allay public concern over AI, saying it could be adopted in a way that enhanced the national interest. The center-left leader said he would meet Australia's state and territory leaders next month to discuss the proposed laws, which would be introduced next year to build trust in AI and protect national security. Australia had led other countries in imposing limits on social media use for children, but the challenge to shape AI in Australia's interest was greater and demanded action now, he said. Letting others write the AI rules "would mean subcontracting our national sovereignty and security to the control of foreign monopolies", he said in a speech at the University of Sydney. "Our great country can be much more than a data warehouse for AI products made overseas." Albanese's speech came after it emerged this week that U.S. startup Anthropic had lobbied Australian officials to change copyright laws to assist the training of AI models, as it considered investing in data centers in the country. Musicians, writers and publishers have urged the government to resist such pressure and protect their work. Legal obligations Australian creative content was not "up for grabs", and the new laws will provide "the strongest possible protection for Australian artists and Australian media", Albanese said. "No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist's control. That includes the artist's control of the price and value of their work. Anything less is theft," he said. The new standards would set clear legal obligations for large data centers, requiring them to put more power into the electricity grid than they take out so AI does not increase power prices for Australians, and ensuring they do not compete for land with housing. Data centers will also be required to minimize water usage. Investment in data centers was the largest contributor to the country's economic growth in the three months to March, although most of the equipment was imported, according to government figures. Albanese said Australia "cannot settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction". Government data showed Australia had not yet seen the impact of AI on the jobs market. "We should not treat AI as a threat to good jobs. We should use it as an instrument to create them," he said. The government will elevate its response to artificial intelligence with a dedicated office in his department to oversee policy. "Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance," he said.

'National security imperative': Coalition says Australia must act fast on AI

The Coalition has pushed for a hasty development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology as a "national security imperative" due to the rise in foreign interference. It comes as union officials push to secure stronger government oversight of the technology on top of the existing guardrails in Labor's draft policy platform. Union officials have been working to rally support ahead of a debate on protecting workers' rights in the face of the AI revolution at next week's national conference, according to The Australian. However, there is concern whether such a push for tighter regulation will get off the ground. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to deliver a speech on Wednesday outlining his government's approach to AI regulation. Speaking to The Australian, shadow defence minister James Paterson advised against over-regulating AI as he declared winning the artificial intelligence race was a "national security imperative". Mr Paterson warned foreign authoritarian states such as China, Russia and Iran were undermining public support for AI in Western nations. "The nations who secure sovereign AI will not just win commercial and economic advantages but a strategic and military edge too," Mr Paterson said. "So we should not be surprised if foreign authoritarian states try to throw sand in the gears of AI adoption among their potential rivals. "Australia should not allow foreign interference to get in the way of the immense opportunities offered by data centre investment and the sovereign AI capability that comes with it." Menzies Research Centre director Jarryd Williamson told the same publication that public support for AI in Australia was likely to be meddled with by foreign entities, which has already occurred in the US. Mr Williamson urged the Albanese government to prepare for the interference. He said there had been reports that Chinese, Iranian and Russian state media had already portrayed to Americans the boom was a way for "the powerful to profit while ordinary families pay higher bills". The Albanese government is expected to unveil a requirement for data centre developers to invest in local communities, as well as pushing for an expansion of government guardrails and industrial relations rules. Labor has also flagged a requirement for data centre developers to commit to measures to minimise electricity price increases by limiting production when the grid is strained. Last week, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor vowed to "get the balance right" on AI amid fears of job losses. The Opposition Leader said AI could be "useful" and its benefits were self-evident, given Australia's uptake. "People are seeing that every day. They're using it all the time," he told Nine's Today last Monday. "On the other hand, we don't want it to control us. So, we've got to get the balance right. "We've got to... make sure the copyright laws are right so it's not stealing from Australian creators and creatives - that's incredibly important." Mr Taylor said the productivity boosts from AI would in turn push wages up. "That's how we get prosperity so we've got to use it for our benefit - not have it use us for its benefit," Mr Taylor said. "We do believe in raising standards of living. We know technology can help that, but that means it has to be used for our benefit."

Australia to establish government AI office, curb data centres' water use

SYDNEY, July 15 (Reuters) - Australia will create an office at the heart of the government to manage the development of artificial intelligence standards and force data centres to be net producers of energy and limit their water usage, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday. The "Office of AI" will be established within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and ensure a whole-of-government approach across different ministries. "Up until now, our response has been issue-by-issue, sector by sector," Albanese said in a speech in Sydney on Wednesday. "This is our time to decide what AI looks like here in Australia. It is not a question of if or when AI will transform our economy, we are past that." The approach is a world-first and will enhance Australia's appeal as a destination for AI investment by providing more clarity for approvals and a more streamlined compliance process, Albanese said. "Our Australian standards will also set clear rules for large data centres: where they are built and the power and water they use," he said, adding that legislation would be introduced in Parliament early next year. The announcement comes as Australia seeks to position itself as an AI leader and a global hub for data centres, while facing calls for tougher regulation as the technology spreads through the economy. Concerns are growing that AI will lead to job losses and higher energy costs, infringe on safety, security and intellectual property, and harm the environment through the expansion of data centres that require vast amounts of water. "The AI-driven surge in data centres will have a profound effect on our energy system, and unchecked, this growth could mean soaring prices and rampant climate pollution," said Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the Climate Council think tank. Australia currently does not have any specific AI laws, and instead relies on a range of privacy and consumer protection laws as well as a voluntary AI ethics framework. (Reporting by Christine Chen and Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Thomas Derpinghaus) By Christine Chen and Alasdair Pal