COMMITTEES

Mr VIOLI (Casey) (09:33): I commend and echo all of the statement from the member for Canning; I won't repeat that. I want to acknowledge the government. This is a bipartisan committee, and it's important, when it comes to artificial intelligence, that we can agree as much as possible.

I want to acknowledge also the member for Curtin, who I know has been engaged in these conversations and has been an advocate for a committee like this as well. It's important we acknowledge that, when it comes to this committee, all parts of the parliament are wanting to work together because the reality is AI touches every aspect of our life today. It's been involved in our lives for decades.

While the conversation kicked off about four years ago with the release of ChatGPT, AI has been impacting our lives for decades. But the profound impact of the speed of change means that these conversations have become more urgent and more important. We want to see AI that delivers for our country to increase our standard of living, but this can't be done without a plan to also protect our way of life.

Motherhood statements might make headlines, but it's the detail that matters when it comes to AI, and we have to ensure that the decisions we make always put the Australian people at the heart of those decisions, ensuring AI works for our country, for our communities, for our businesses and for individuals. The committee will explore the detail when it comes to AI.

The joint select committee on AI will explore the vast opportunities for Australia to grow our economy and improve the standard of living for all Australians. It will explore the opportunities for our suburbs, for our regions and for those in the cities. It will look at how it can be used to drive R&D and innovation in our nation to drive economic growth, to drive productivity and to improve the lives of all Australians.

It will look at how we can use AI to put Australians first and protect our national interest. While AI has enormous potential to improve our lives and livelihoods, we cannot be and we are not complacent about the risks. This is why this committee will also examine the workforce and skills implications of AI—job displacement but also job creation, the adequacy of Australia's education system and the risks and harms arising from AI, particularly to the safety and wellbeing of children and vulnerable Australians.

There is a very important conversation that needs to take place in this House and across the nation about AI when it comes to democracy and also the parliament. I know the Speaker has been a long-time advocate for civics in schools and has been visiting many schools, including in my community. I know he personally is thinking about the impacts of AI for our committee system, our parliamentary system, our offices and our democracy.

That's important work that we need to do. We have seen the opportunities to create AI memes et cetera really change the conversation in our world. It's an important part that we need to look at.

During these uncertain times, the committee will also examine the cybersecurity and foreign interference risks of AI for our democracy but also in everyday life. We need to acknowledge that, just like our adversaries can utilise AI against us, we can also harness AI to strengthen our national security and protect our way of life. Australia as a country is at a pivotal moment.

The world is at a pivotal moment. It is incumbent on us as members of parliament to acknowledge the point in history that we are facing, the opportunities that we face and the challenges that we face. We cannot shy away from those opportunities and challenges.

We need to acknowledge that, when it comes to AI, the speed of change is exponential. It is getting quicker every day. That is why this is deliberately a short, sharp committee to look at the challenges we face today while acknowledging that, once we report in November, come December and January new challenges will emerge.

So we need to be agile and move as quickly as possible to ensure that we are putting the rules in place to protect Australians and make sure AI works for all of us and can solve many of the significant challenges that we as a nation face.