Just two days into his presidency, Donald Trump has stirred the waters in the booming field of artificial intelligence. In addition to rolling back Biden-era regulations, Trump announced a $500 billion (approximately AU$797.1 billion) investment in a new company called "Stargate" to further develop AI technology. The implications of these decisions, as with all matters involving the U.S., are likely to ripple across the globe, Australia included.
Read Also...:
Adelaide ranked hottest city in the world as state smothered by hottest day in years
02-13, 2025
All hell is going to break out': Trump says ceasefire deal should be cancelled if Hamas doesn't release all h
02-13, 2025
'We'll bring hygge to Hollywood': Danes jokingly petition to buy California as Trump seeks Greenland
02-13, 2025
Trump says he and Russian leader Putin have agreed to begin 'negotiations' on ending Ukraine war
02-13, 2025Experts are divided on the issue. Some see the massive investment as an opportunity, while others worry about the dangerous consequences of a lack of regulation. Professor Michael Blumenstein from the University of Technology Sydney stated that Trump's stance on AI is "very welcome," linking it to the president's advocacy for space exploration. He noted that these announcements from the U.S. are significant for both Australia and the world, given the global competition in both AI and space. As a close ally of the U.S., these announcements are expected to spur Australia to adopt a more ambitious posture, contributing to AI research and technological development for both local and global benefit, and to reignite investment in space research to support the local space industry. He also mentioned that Australia’s leading position in AI research has not yet translated into innovation.
However, Dr. Fan Yang, a researcher at Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, expressed concern about the broad deregulation ordered by Trump. He argues that this deregulation, covering critical areas like AI safety, fairness, diversity, and online misinformation, will exacerbate harm to communities facing varying degrees of vulnerability. Australia is ill-prepared to deal with the impending changes from the U.S. due to its heavy reliance on American technological infrastructure, the voluntary nature of AI safety standards, and the abandonment of the Combating Misinformation and Disinformation Bill. Even if the bill had passed, it would not have been sufficient to effectively address the growing challenges of online misinformation.
Associate Professor Niousha Shafiei-Bavani from the Information Technology department at Australian Catholic University also warned that the divergence in AI development paths between Australia and the U.S. could pose difficulties. She said, "We have a lot of ongoing collaboration with our U.S. partners on sensitive projects, including defense applications. In Australia, we have to adhere to mandatory guidelines for the safe and ethical application of AI. Now that our U.S. collaborators are no longer subject to the same standards, we will not be able to work with them as effectively and efficiently as we did before." She also stated that ethical guidelines are "integral and necessary," and the removal of these guidelines by the U.S. will make collaboration "very tricky," and Australia might even have to ban some projects from the U.S.
However, Greg Sadler, CEO of Good Ancestors Policy, stated that Trump "may be right to bet big on AI." Good Ancestors Policy is an Australian charity focused on AI. Sadler pointed out that the development of AI capabilities is significant, and the impact of transformative AI is an issue the next Australian government will have to grapple with. Australians are more concerned about the risks of AI than any other country. A significant proportion fear the potential catastrophic consequences highlighted by leading experts. He believes that establishing an AI safety agency to fulfill Australia's commitments under the Seoul Declaration should be a priority.
