MARK RILEY: ‘Let it rip’ AI approach would tear society apart

Ask AI whether governments will be able to protect their citizens against the risks posed by AI and the answer is maybe.

Google Gemini says: “It is an open question.”

It suggests success is possible, “but requires an urgent and delicate balancing act”.

It is an act Anthony Albanese is now trying to perform as he sets out to deliver a uniform set of standards to govern the production and application of AI technologies across Australia.

In setting down policy markers for dealing with the artificial intelligence challenge in a speech on Wednesday, Albanese agreed with Gemini that it was indeed an issue demanding urgency.

AI is already fundamentally changing our daily lives.

That change will grow exponentially as artificial intelligence not only redirects the way the fabric of society is woven but redesigns the very fabric itself.

Governments cannot simply sit back and let it rip in the way they did with the explosion of social media.

We are seeing the folly now in governments allowing these technologies to build a critical mass before belatedly trying to bolt on protections from the extreme human consequences of their inevitable abuse.

The political world moved way too late on social media. It cannot repeat that catastrophic error on AI.

Just two days before Albanese’s speech, Australians were presented with appalling evidence of how the tech giants are allowing AI to be abused by organised criminals with sometimes fatal consequences.

The eSafety Commission accused the tech giants of effectively turning a blind eye while scammers employ AI avatars to lure young Australians into poisonous honey pots.

The victims, mostly young men, are being seduced by digital bots into sending naked images of themselves which are then used to extort them.

The luckiest are left embarrassed. But too often these repulsive attacks send the young men spiralling into depressive cycles of self-harm — even death.

This is technology at its worst. But most of the downside of this latest revolution is more subtle.

A recent study found that 80 per cent of Australian university students are using AI in their studies and that 54 per cent of their assignments are at least in some part written by AI.

Unions, particularly in the financial services and administration fields, have grave concerns about AI assistants consuming their members’ jobs.

And the tendency of large language model AI tools to “hallucinate” and deliver misleading but confident answers to complex questions presents obvious dangers in critical areas of health and scientific research but also in dangerously misshaping public opinions.

But this is where the “delicate balancing act” comes in.

The irrefutable advantages of AI far outweigh its dangers.

Used judiciously to access, assimilate and streamline available data, AI is unparalleled in its ability to supercharge efficiency and productivity.

And big data means big bucks.

The National Accounts show that the billions of dollars in investment flooding into data centres at present is almost single-handedly keeping the Australian economy afloat.

But these massive futuristic forges have a voracious appetite for electricity and water.

Albanese says his proposed national set of standards will address that by confronting artificial intelligence with real boundaries and responsibilities.

Big data will be required to finance new renewable energy generation to offset the full amount of power they suck from the grid.

The new standards will also impose rigorous efficiency and recycling practices to minimise water use.

Albanese says he wants to transform Australia into a global leader in AI technology, rather than just a warehouse for imported innovation.

He insists his national standards will create certainty in the operating environment in a way that will attract AI investment, not deter it.

And industry seems to agree. The reaction from big tech has been universally positive.

Now, Australia needs to get moving.

AI is already here and is heading at warp speed to “there” and beyond.

Governments must act now to build crucial protections into the foundations of this epoch-changing industry before AI leaves them and us in its cyber dust.

Mark Riley is the Seven Network’s political editor