A national artificial intelligence (AI) capability plan will be established to maximise the potential of the multi-billion-dollar industry in Australia.
The Federal Government aims to co-design the plan with industry in an attempt to grow investment in Australian AI capabilities and boost productivity.
Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic said, globally, the AI industry was growing rapidly, and AI and automation was expected to generate up to $600 billion a year towards Australia’s GDP by 2030.
Minister Husic said there were already around 650 AI companies headquartered in Australia and in the five years to 2023 foreign investors contributed $7 billion to Australian AI technologies.
“In 2023 alone $2 billion in venture capital was invested in Australian AI applications,” he said.
“(We) want to build on our comparative advantages in AI and grow this industry.”
Minister Husic said the Department of Industry, Science and Resources was commencing work on the National AI Capability Plan, to:
- Grow investment:
- Review how existing state and federal government support mechanisms work together to hinder or enable, Australia’s AI ecosystem.
- Look for ways to boost private sector innovation and investment in AI capability.
- Strengthen AI capabilities:
- Identify areas of research and innovation strength across universities and business for future industry growth.
- Explore new areas of comparative advantage in key sectors, for example in agriculture, mining and renewable energy.
- Boost AI Skills:
- Work to accelerate AI literacy, identifying new skills, training and re-training.
- Ensure workers can reskill throughout their career to take advantage of new employment opportunities.
- Secure Economic Resilience:
- Identify areas where sovereign capability or infrastructure is required for Australia to get the most out of AI technologies.
- Consider opportunities and risks in relation to AI and digital inclusion.
- Be informed by the experiences and rights of communities and workers – making AI work for us and not the other way around.
“We need to scale up our capabilities in critical technologies, in ways that work for businesses and their workers.
“This plan will look to harness our AI know-how to secure our supply chains and strengthen our critical infrastructure.“
