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  • 5 weeks ago
Professor Kimberlee Weatherall is an expert on AI law and policy based at the University of Sydney Law School. She says AI legislation could be fortified, if the government chooses to adopt a coordinated approach.

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00:02I'm going to be very interested to see what the pivot is.
00:05We keep hearing in the media that there's been a shift
00:08in the approach of the government.
00:10So far, the approach of the government has been more or less
00:13to just continue along business as usual,
00:16maybe slightly strengthen some regulators,
00:18slightly tweak some laws.
00:19But if, as the report suggests,
00:22there's going to be a kind of office for AI,
00:25there's going to be more coordination,
00:26there's going to be a more active and forward-looking approach,
00:29I think that will be good for Australia.
00:31And what practical difference do you see being achieved
00:34by having that office in the Prime Minister's department
00:37to make the AI policy there?
00:40Well, one of the challenges the federal government has had so far in AI
00:44has been the responsibility for different issues relating to AI
00:47has been spread across multiple different departments.
00:50You know, at least five different ministers
00:51having different pieces of responsibility.
00:54And so if there's a more coordinated approach,
00:57and importantly, a coordinated approach from the office
01:00of the Prime Minister, which has more force within the government
01:03as a whole, I think that could be really strong.
01:05Now, on data centres, there are pros and cons for Australia,
01:10for big tech wanting to have them here.
01:13How much leverage does the government have here
01:15when dealing with these tech giants?
01:18Actually, Australia does have a lot of leverage,
01:21I mean, significant elements.
01:24So we have a whole lot of different strengths in AI.
01:26We have great researchers, we have a stable democracy,
01:30we have access to renewable energy.
01:36So there's a whole lot of different ways
01:38in which we could be asserting Australian interests
01:43when we talk about the building of data centres.
01:45Now, big tech, they do have concerns about our copyright laws.
01:51As we heard just a moment ago, we're not expecting much
01:53from the speech today on copyright laws.
01:56But if they're based here, the data centres,
01:59they will be subject to our laws.
02:00Where do you see the government going on this?
02:02Where do you think they should go on this?
02:06Really interesting and complicated question.
02:10I mean, the first point to note is that actually a lot
02:13of our activity is already subject to Australian copyright law.
02:17But in terms of where things should go,
02:20the important point to pay attention to, I think,
02:22is how creators and individual creators feature in this
02:25because it's individual creators who are most harmed
02:28by the development of AI and the competition they get
02:32from AI systems.
02:33And so, you know, it's not just about copyright ownership.
02:35It's about how do we ensure that creators benefit
02:39and that creators have a say in how their material is used.
02:42Finally, I mean, AI is here.
02:45We're getting this big speech from the Prime Minister today.
02:47Where does this leave the average Australian?
02:49How do they feel about this transition?
02:51And really, with the effects that we're seeing now,
02:54how does this compare to what's to come?
02:56Look, I think, I mean, people all around the world
02:59and certainly people in Australia have a lot of concerns
03:02about where the technology is going, the concentration of power,
03:05the concentration of resources, where this is and the impacts
03:10this is going to have on things like jobs into the future,
03:13on how we work into the future, on how we live into the future,
03:16on our media environment.
03:19Look, I think those impacts are going to grow.
03:23The technology is becoming more powerful.
03:25Even when it becomes more widespread,
03:27we're going to see a range of different impacts.
03:30I can only hope that with a more active and engaged approach,
03:33the government can be addressing those as they come
03:36and particularly thinking about the kinds of laws,
03:40regulations and standards we're going to need in Australia
03:42to make sure that everyone who is using or developing AI
03:46is using it in a way that Australians actually benefit.
03:48We're going to need this.
03:50There is a picture of our machine.
03:51We are going to need this under spirits in nom выглядers.
03:52There are species more people in our players can see
03:52all these parameters that we Seems noise.
03:52So, for such a background, I think you can be able to
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