Artificial intelligence is not just a question of productivity or national competitiveness. It is a question of people. If Australia is to shape AI in the national interest, human rights must be at the centre of that task.
AI is already transforming how we work, learn, communicate, and make decisions. It will shape Australia for decades to come. The Prime Minister is right to recognise that this moment requires national leadership, clear rules and a framework that reflects Australian values.
The Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday that the Government will introduce an artificial intelligence framework — including the establishment of an Office of AI within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the development of Australian Standards for AI — is a welcome step towards ensuring Australia “can capture the opportunity, share the benefits and keep Australians safe”.
But there is still an important element missing.
Much of the discussion about AI focuses on economic growth and strategic advantage. Those issues matter. But AI is not only a technological or economic transformation. It is fundamentally a human one.
The most profound impact of AI will not be measured only in productivity gains or investment flows. It will be felt in the lives of individuals, families and communities. It will influence who gets opportunities, how decisions are made, how information is trusted, how privacy is protected, and how people experience autonomy, dignity and freedom in an increasingly automated world.
That is why human rights must be a central and express part of Australia’s AI agenda.
Human rights provide the framework for asking the questions that matter most. Who benefits from AI? Who bears the risk? Who is accountable when something goes wrong? Can people understand and challenge decisions that affect them? Are we protecting dignity, equality, privacy, free speech, and democratic participation?
These questions are not abstract.
AI can help doctors diagnose illness, improve accessibility for people with disability, expand educational opportunities, reduce administrative burdens and help solve complex social challenges. Used well, it can enhance human flourishing on a remarkable scale.
But AI can also entrench inequality, amplify misinformation, reproduce bias, undermine privacy and make important decisions harder to understand or challenge. It can affect whether someone gets a job interview, receives a service, is flagged as a risk, or is able to participate fully and fairly in public life.
The same technology that empowers can also exclude.
The difference will be determined by the values we choose to embed in the systems we build, the safeguards we put around them, and the accountability we require from those who deploy them.
This is where trust and human rights become inseparable.
Australians will not trust AI simply because it is innovative or efficient. People trust technologies when they believe they are fair and safe. Trust is built when people know their rights are respected and protected.
A human rights-centred approach is not a barrier to economic success or innovation. It is a foundation for it.
The countries and businesses that succeed in the AI era will not necessarily be those that move fastest. They will be those that develop systems people are willing to use, rely on and trust.
Australia has an opportunity to lead here.
We should not seek to compete by lowering standards, and leaving difficult questions to a later date. Nor should we view AI simply through the lens of strategic competition. Our distinctive contribution can be different: building AI that is trusted because it is grounded in democratic values, human dignity, and the rule of law.
This is a generational moment. The choices we make now will shape how people experience freedom and opportunity in the decades ahead.
The question is not simply how Australia can benefit from AI.
It is what kind of future we want AI to help us create.
Lorraine Finlay is the Human Rights Commissioner
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