Latest / The Front / The Pauline Effect: What’s behind Albo’s AI crackdown?

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The Pauline Effect: What’s behind Albo’s AI crackdown? · The Front

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  Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
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  Speaker 1: It's Monday, July twenty, twenty twenty six. Governments are making
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  Speaker 1: much less money from mining, a twenty five billion dollar
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  Speaker 1: slump in royalties and company tax payments in the past
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  Speaker 1: two years. That's thanks to falling commodity prices and rising
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  Speaker 1: operating costs. Don't write off Pauline Hanson just yet. One
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  Speaker 1: nation's up a point in the latest News poll to
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  Speaker 1: thirty percent of first preferences from voters surveyed, while Labour's
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  Speaker 1: dropped three points, also on thirty and the Coalition's up
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  Speaker 1: two points to nineteen. Australian musicians, artists, writers and workers
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  Speaker 1: will all be safe from theft and exploitation from big AI.
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  Speaker 1: That's Anthony Albanesi's bold promise for world leading law as
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  Speaker 1: he battles a populist surge and deep community fear about
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  Speaker 1: the future of copyright, jobs and the environment. But can
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  Speaker 1: Little Australia really influence these huge global forces? That's today's story.
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  Speaker 2: I am really serious about the magague of benefits.
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  Speaker 3: We can make AI work in Australia's national interests.
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  Speaker 4: AI could be very, very good for us, or it
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  Speaker 4: could be very very bad for us, and that would.
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  Speaker 1: Greg Brown is the Australian's chief political correspondent and he's
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  Speaker 1: covering what's turned out to be a big U turn
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  Speaker 1: by Anthony Alberesi. Greg. Not so long ago, Anthony Alberanzi
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  Speaker 1: was talking about a light touch with artificial intelligence. Now
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  Speaker 1: he's talking about bringing the world's toughest laws in to
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  Speaker 1: rain in the AI giants.
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  Speaker 3: We can determine women AI's social license. This is our
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  Speaker 3: time to decide what AI looks like here in Australia.
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  Speaker 4: It is not.
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  Speaker 1: And along the way he's trying to make happy the unions,
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  Speaker 1: the journalists, the artists and the musicians. First of all,
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  Speaker 1: let's start with those copyright protections that people like muso's want.
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  Speaker 1: They have high expectations of Anthony Albanezi because he's a
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  Speaker 1: music fan. We've seen him in his Joy Division T shirt.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think he has landed on the side of
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  Speaker 1: refusing what big AI wants, which is an exemption to
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  Speaker 1: copyright laws so they can download anything they want.
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  Speaker 2: We yet to see the final details, Claire, but I
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  Speaker 2: think from what he has said in this landmark speech
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  Speaker 2: on Wednesday, He has vowed to give the strongest possible
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  Speaker 2: protection to copyright laws and intellectual property of artists and
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  Speaker 2: media companies in law.
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  Speaker 3: This is about building Australian's confidence and trust in AI
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  Speaker 3: and our nation's capacity to manage it, ensuring that our
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  Speaker 3: national interests.
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  Speaker 2: And there were some concerns. The Productivity Commission, if you remember,
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  Speaker 2: floated the idea of giving the data mining exemption to
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  Speaker 2: AI companies. This was strongly opposed by media companies and artists.
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  Speaker 2: The government initially did say it was not going to
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  Speaker 2: do that, but then there were some concerns. As they're
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  Speaker 2: trying to get in the flood of capital, the investment,
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  Speaker 2: they really have been interested in making Australia an AI
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  Speaker 2: hub and leaning into it. There were concerns they were
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  Speaker 2: going to start giving some exemptions and backflipping essentially. I
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  Speaker 2: think what Anthony Albaneze he said in this speech, he
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  Speaker 2: made it very clear he would not be doing that,
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  Speaker 2: but was yet to see the legislation that should be ready.
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  Speaker 2: Early next year, Europe.
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  Speaker 1: Did a Big AI Act, which set out to regulate
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  Speaker 1: everything about the way AI interacts with the workforce and
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  Speaker 1: with business when it comes to artificial intelligence. The EU
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  Speaker 1: is doubling down on its mission kurb misuse without crushing innovation.
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  Speaker 1: Is that the kind of thing that we're looking at here.
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  Speaker 2: Not quite. So the government has been in a bit
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  Speaker 2: of a topsy turvy evolution on this. So the former
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  Speaker 2: Industry Minister Ed Hughesch, who had carriage of AI. He
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  Speaker 2: supported an AI Act and that would have been a
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  Speaker 2: set of specific laws that would have targeted AI. Only
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  Speaker 2: once he moved out of that portfolio Tim Ayres who
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  Speaker 2: is now the Industry Minister, and I think very crucially
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  Speaker 2: Andrew Charton went into Assistant Technology Minister. Now he is
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  Speaker 2: a former founder of an AI company or a company
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  Speaker 2: that used a lot of aide, lot of money out
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  Speaker 2: of it. So they actually decided against the AI Act,
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  Speaker 2: which the unions were pushing for very strongly. They went
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  Speaker 2: against that last year and said we're not going to
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  Speaker 2: have any specific laws for AI. What we will do
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  Speaker 2: is set up a new advisory body that can tell
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  Speaker 2: us when our existing laws are not fit for purpose
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  Speaker 2: for dealing with AI. But they were not going to
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  Speaker 2: get out ahead of it and pass new laws or
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  Speaker 2: anything like that. They were going to let AI roll
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  Speaker 2: and then wait for this advisory body to tell them
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  Speaker 2: or no, we think there's some gaps in this law
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  Speaker 2: and that law because of AI. So it was a
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  Speaker 2: far more reactive attitude they had when they announced the
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  Speaker 2: National AI Plan late last year. However, sorry to answer
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  Speaker 2: your question, Claire, this is not as all encompassing as
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  Speaker 2: an AI Act, so it certainly is shift because they
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  Speaker 2: are proposing AI specific laws for data centers, but they
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  Speaker 2: are still planning on reviewing and reforming existing laws in
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  Speaker 2: other areas, most particularly ir which I think is going
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  Speaker 2: to be the big debate moving forward.
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  Speaker 1: Those guys you mentioned, tim As, Andrew Charlton, also Daniel Molino,
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  Speaker 1: another senior figure in the government. They were viewed by
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  Speaker 1: the big AI companies as kind of the hope of
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  Speaker 1: their side that they were the ones who understood why
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  Speaker 1: data center investment is so important in Australia and that
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  Speaker 1: they might be minded to urge the government to give
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  Speaker 1: the copyright exemptions that the AI companies wanted. There are
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  Speaker 1: other people in the government, notably Michelle Roland, the Attorney General,
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  Speaker 1: who were opposed to that idea. Is this a loss
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  Speaker 1: for those young guns.
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  Speaker 2: I think the politics probably got away from them in
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  Speaker 2: the end. I mean, I was actually stunned last year
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  Speaker 2: when the Productivity Commission came out I think it was
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  Speaker 2: about August last year against an AI act. The ACTU
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  Speaker 2: went ballistic, smashed the Productivity Commission, all the this neo
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  Speaker 2: liberal body. I think they even called for it to
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  Speaker 2: be disbanded.
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  Speaker 4: And then the.
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  Speaker 2: Government we were here. I was increasingly hearing in the
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  Speaker 2: lead up to the AI plan being released in December
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  Speaker 2: that they were favoring a more light touch approach. So
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  Speaker 2: I actually called the ACTU about a week before the
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  Speaker 2: plan was happening. I said do you want a specific
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  Speaker 2: AI Act? And they basically gave the government the green
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  Speaker 2: light to not use one. And this was fascinating that
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  Speaker 2: the government rejected an AI act. The unions did not
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  Speaker 2: say boo, so that was a big shift for the unions.
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  Speaker 2: But what was clear in this plan is that there
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  Speaker 2: will be further work done on regulating AI through the
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  Speaker 2: Fair Work Act, and that's what we're seeing playing out
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  Speaker 2: a little bit in National Conference. We're seeing the government
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  Speaker 2: look at IR laws in reference to AI and this
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  Speaker 2: I think will be the main debate. But Anthony Albanesi
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  Speaker 2: coming out now and actually announcing specific laws for data
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  Speaker 2: centers it was about the unions, but I think it
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  Speaker 2: was also about one nation. Paul En Hansen has flagged
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  Speaker 2: in a National Press Club speech that she didn't believe
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  Speaker 2: in a las A fair approach to regulating AI. She
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  Speaker 2: was going to come up with her own plan that
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  Speaker 2: would have a more heavy handed approach to it.
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  Speaker 5: It has the potential to dramatically affect the lives of
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  Speaker 5: human beings, the consequences of which may be still unknown. Therefore,
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  Speaker 5: AI should not be left entirely to self regulation.
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  Speaker 2: I think we're seeing a lot of community anxiety out
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  Speaker 2: there about the technology, and when we're in an environment
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  Speaker 2: where populism is thriving. I think Anthony Albanesi sees this
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  Speaker 2: as a moment that he has to own.
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  Speaker 1: Coming up. Unions are obsessed with AI, but what will
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  Speaker 1: it actually mean for jobs. There's such an interesting mix
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  Speaker 1: of issues for particularly regional communities where Pauline Hanson's messages
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  Speaker 1: are seeming to land greg One of them is the
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  Speaker 1: use of power and infrastructure in building data centers. They
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  Speaker 1: require a huge amount of energy, but they don't require
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  Speaker 1: a lot of staff after the construction phase is finished.
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  Speaker 1: There was one being proposed in the Blue Mountains near
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  Speaker 1: Sydney just recently that once it was up and running,
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  Speaker 1: was going to have five staff. That's another issue for unions,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it. I've noticed in your stories that some of
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  Speaker 1: the unions are saying they want a real focus on
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  Speaker 1: apprentices being employed in the construction phase of data centers,
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  Speaker 1: but others noting that once they're up and running. You
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  Speaker 1: quoted memorably someone saying that they require four fifths of
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  Speaker 1: f all people to run them. So where do the
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  Speaker 1: unions kind of end up on data centers?
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  Speaker 2: So the data center an ongoing employment issue is probably
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  Speaker 2: a more complex one that there can be solved at
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  Speaker 2: national conference, although I certainly think there's going to be
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  Speaker 2: a big conversation about that, and that's all about sovereign
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  Speaker 2: capability and I think encouraging or even enforcing international tech
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  Speaker 2: companies to invest more in Australian capability so they're not
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  Speaker 2: just building the data centers and then doing the work
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  Speaker 2: from overseas. I definitely think that's a big part. A
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  Speaker 2: key battle in this is companies that adopt AI for
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  Speaker 2: things like they might use AI for their rosters or
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  Speaker 2: various functions, which means that they can do it cheaper
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  Speaker 2: and they may not need labor anymore. Now, this is
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  Speaker 2: really where the unions are putting their foot down. The
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  Speaker 2: draft platform national conferences this week starting Wednesday. It was
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  Speaker 2: looking like a snoozefest because Anthony Abbas, he's so successful
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  Speaker 2: at killing debates at these things. But someone, some helpful
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  Speaker 2: person handed me a yet to be released draft platform
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  Speaker 2: a couple of weeks ago, and I read through it
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  Speaker 2: and the artificial intelligence references had expanded exponentially. And so
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  Speaker 2: while the government is really trying to eliminate debates on
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  Speaker 2: national security issues like ORCUS, they have been willing to
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  Speaker 2: shift in this regard. And one thing we've seen the
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  Speaker 2: unions get into the draft platform is a reference that
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  Speaker 2: workers should be consulted when AI is adopted in the workforce.
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  Speaker 4: Consulting. What we are saying is that you should consult
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  Speaker 4: with your workers and reach agreement on the things that
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  Speaker 4: they're going to really be worried about, because workers are
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  Speaker 4: going to want to embrace something. If you take away
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  Speaker 4: their base fears of losing their job, of having their
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  Speaker 4: data stolen, of all of those things, you're going to
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  Speaker 4: have the good implementation of AI, not one where people
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  Speaker 4: are fearful and also quite frankly resentful of AI coming
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  Speaker 4: and taking their jobs.
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  Speaker 2: Now to business. That is code for unions should get
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  Speaker 2: a veto on whether bosses use AI or not. And
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  Speaker 2: my understanding my mail is the unions will push for
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  Speaker 2: these references to be strength and further at national conference.
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  Speaker 2: So that's really the crux of it for the unions.
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  Speaker 2: So with the data center stuff, I think they definitely
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  Speaker 2: want data centers to be responsible for their own electricity.
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  Speaker 2: There's also going to be pushing national conferences you said
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  Speaker 2: for them to be hiring more apprentices. I think over
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  Speaker 2: time they'll talk about how data centers can hire people
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  Speaker 2: more on an ongoing basis. But I think more broadly
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  Speaker 2: the unions are more worried about the impacts it will
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  Speaker 2: have on existing jobs in offices.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, they're also seeing some potential opportunities there. Right, there's
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  Speaker 1: talk of maybe we could get a four day week
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  Speaker 1: out of this, you know, maybe there's what they call
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  Speaker 1: a productivity dividend for workers. I mean, I'm sure everyone's
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  Speaker 1: years preck cup when they hear about a four day week,
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  Speaker 1: But that scene.
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  Speaker 2: Sounds great, Claires, Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, you can have Monday off, but you know that
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  Speaker 1: doesn't seem like a realistic that's not going to be
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  Speaker 1: what AI brings us, is it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting because this has been a debate. I
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  Speaker 2: think some economists back in the early twentieth century had
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  Speaker 2: suggested we'd be working far few hours now because we
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  Speaker 2: would be more productive. But instead we've taken the pay
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  Speaker 2: rises and a far higher standard of living, So the
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  Speaker 2: idea we would move back on that would be I
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  Speaker 2: think unrealistic. There is a reference to a four day
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  Speaker 2: week in the National Platform. By the way, it was
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  Speaker 2: not committing a labor government to anything, but it did
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  Speaker 2: acknowledge that this was an idea out there to share
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  Speaker 2: the productivity dividend of AI, and that it was being
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  Speaker 2: trialed by some companies. So I don't think there's any
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  Speaker 2: chance to unions that are pushing this will get their
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  Speaker 2: way on that being inserted into the national platform. But
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  Speaker 2: the fact there was a reference or a commitment to
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  Speaker 2: it in the National Platform from the government. But the
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  Speaker 2: fact there was a reference from it, I think is telling.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Labor conference is always great for a big barney
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  Speaker 1: between the different factions and the union, so I hope
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  Speaker 1: that happens for you this week. Greg at the very
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  Speaker 1: least it will make for an entertaining story.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Thanks Claire.
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  Speaker 1: Greg Brown is The Australian's chief political correspondent. You can
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: check out all his scoops anytime at the Australian dot
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  Speaker 1: com dot au