COMMITTEES
Mr HASTIE (Canning) (09:26): Artificial intelligence poses multiple challenges to Australia and to our people. We see moral, strategic and economic challenges. AI is reshaping the world, and the geopolitical implications for Australia are clear.
Right now we are witnessing a race for AI dominance between the United States and the People's Republic of China. We have to find a way to adapt to this new era of geopolitical competition in a way that upholds our sovereignty, security and economic competitiveness. We can't get left behind in this race, as AI will drive changes in the geopolitical order and the world economy.
We can't pretend that the AI revolution won't impact us. It will, it already has and we need to respond to the risks and the opportunities. That's why it's vital that this parliament explores the opportunities and risks posed by AI and prepares our nation for the challenges that lie ahead.
That's why the coalition will support the establishment of a Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. This was the initiative of opposition along with the member for Curtin, and we are pleased that the government has agreed to work with us on this important matter. A committee of this nature will give the parliament the platform to lead the Australian people in understanding the risks, the opportunities and the necessary actions required for Australians to thrive in this new era of technology.
We will explore how AI impacts our resilience, our productivity, our economic competitiveness and our living standards. We will understand the impact of AI on our national security, our political system and our way of life. We'll engage in moral, economic and strategic questions.
The committee will examine the adequacy of existing laws, the importance of data sovereignty and the impact of AI on local communities. Addressing these matters is an essential task for our parliament. Without doing so, Australia risks falling behind other nations already ahead in the AI race.
We need to ask the hard questions now and develop a national response in the committee. That is our role in the Commonwealth parliament. This committee will allow us to deliberate on these important questions along with the Australian public.
Policymakers have a moral obligation to hammer out a new political and economic settlement that ensures that AI serves all Australians, not just a few. Our workers, our businesses, our industry and our kids all need to be considered in the course of this committee's work. We can't let big tech reshape our nation without democratic oversight and accountability.
That's our job, and we look forward to hearing from people across Australia during public hearings and through their submissions. At the same time, we must build a sovereign AI capability or accept that Australia's future will be shaped by other nations. Our national security and economic future must be front and centre, and I want to make three quick points.
First, Australia should play to our strengths in this AI race. Australia has an abundance of land, energy and critical minerals. We have a stable government and plenty of homegrown talent.
We have a real opportunity to become the AI compute hub of the Southern Hemisphere. This is why the energy debate is central to our AI future. AI is energy intensive.
A ChatGPT search is 10 times more energy intensive than a Google search. AI hyperscalers are looking for reliable sources of energy, and Australia has a natural abundance of coal, gas and uranium. We need to create the right conditions for companies to invest here and partner with Australians to build a sovereign AI capability.
That's why getting cheaper, reliable baseload power online is so important. Renewables are insufficient, and we must face this hard truth. That's why energy security must take precedence over climate ideology in this debate.
Getting the incentives and tax settings right will also be important, as will the governance framework. But this is what we must do to build sovereign AI here at home. This committee will go far in identifying these opportunities.
Second, we must understand the security risks of falling behind in the AI race. AI has many military applications, as we are seeing in the wars in Ukraine and Iran. It also can be used to attack a nation's critical infrastructure, government and businesses, and, without sovereign AI capability, we will be entirely dependent on other nations for our security.
As we saw recently with the US government's decision to hit the kill switch on Anthropic's Mythos model, if we don't have sovereign AI capability, we are vulnerable to all sorts of strategic and economic shocks, even coercion by a foreign power. Right now Australia is tethered to the United States's AI capability via submarine cables. That's a risk that we can't keep running.
That's why we must build our own sovereign AI capability here on our red dirt with Australian tech and talent. Finally, our education system needs to get ready for the AI revolution. If we want our kids to be ready for AI, we must fix our education system and get back to basics.
Our NAPLAN and PISA scores need to lift, and they've been dropping over the last two decades, consistently, across maths, science, literature, history, writing by hand and time in thought. Innovation is driven by people, not machines. We want our kids to be able to build AI models, not be slaves to them.
So we need to invest in the next generation of young Australians who can think clearly, act justly and lead wisely, and there is a lot of work to be done in the education space. This committee has a big task ahead of it. It won't be a comprehensive report with all the answers when it concludes its work later this year, but it's time that we started the national conversation, and this is a good first step.
I am confident that Australia can thrive in this new world of AI. This committee is a step towards doing so.