“More than 30 major technology companies signed up to combatting CSAM (child sexual abuse material) with the Five Eyes governments [Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US], and none of them were living up to the pledges that they signed up for.
“If we’re going to have them sign up for pledges, we also have to have some metrics about whether these are being embedded, and they’re actually effective.”
The Albanese government is considering how to regulate AI and, after hosting discussions with academics, technology firms and consumer groups last week, Science Minister Ed Husic said high risk uses of AI would be subject to new rules.
“I have been saying to the roundtables, the era of self-regulation is over,” Mr Husic said. “This is about building public trust, so we can confidently deploy AI technologies where they can do the greatest good, whether it’s safer buildings or cleaner water.”
Earlier in the day, Government Services Minister Bill Shorten pushed for a new “kitchen cabinet” of experts to help embed ethical oversight in government services and in the implementation of artificial intelligence.
“We need to have a proper conversation about the right time and place to apply it,” Mr Shorten said.
“One thing we do know when it comes to AI is that we can never risk it being designed or implemented in isolation from human considerations.”
Victorian Government Services Minister Danny Pearson said that parliament would struggle to pass regulation quickly enough to keep up with the pace of technology development.
“The reality is technology is moving so rapidly that we have to try to start thinking differently. We have to have a principles-based approach.”
Mr Pearson said Victoria was about to start consulting a diverse range of AI experts to set “guardrails” for the use of AI in government.
“There’s a level of uncertainty … no one knows if AI is going to be a salvation or inherently problematic, or a bit of both.
“If that’s what we think’s going to happen, then we can’t necessarily be predetermined in what we think the right solution is.”
NSW Customer Service Minister Jihad Dib said his state’s AI policy framework already needed to be updated, just 12 months after it was released.
“That’s how fast things are moving. We can’t just make a document, put it up on the iCloud and just leave it. It’s got to be a continuous living document that changes over time.”
