Australian AI Plan In Progress, But Industry Warns Urgency Needed

The Australian government yesterday announced it will begin developing a new National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Capability Plan to help boost the nation’s economic and productivity growth. Development of the plan will be led by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. 

Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic said the plan will focus on aligning  government policy to optimise the growth of the local AI industry, with four primary goals: 

1. grow investment in AI;
2. strengthen the nation’s AI capabilities;
3. boost AI skills; and 
4. secure economic resilience.

The government said there’s already around 650 Aussie AI companies. But with this new plan it hopes to light a fire under the industry, pumping those numbers significantly by 2030 in an effort to avoid being left behind in the extremely competitive global AI space.

The plan is due to be finalised in late 2025 following both public and targeted consultation periods.

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Plan Complements Other Government Measures on AI, Says Minister

In the five years to the end of 2023, over AU$5 billion dollars in foreign investment flowed into the Aussie AI industry, with AUD$2 billion in venture capital money pouring in in 2023 alone.

But those are rookie numbers according to the government — by 2030 it expects the AI industry will contribute AU$600 billion to the nation’s annual GDP.

The government says part of stimulating this growth will involve reviewing “how existing state and federal government support mechanisms work together to hinder or enable Australia’s AI ecosystem.” Minister Husic says this process will involve close consultation with all key stakeholders to arrive at solutions that work best to foster industry growth:

This won’t just mean boosting investment though, it’ll also mean up-skilling the workforce to be able to get the most out of AI technology:

AI Plan Will Secure Supply Chains, Says Minister

Minister Husic also claims this new plan will go some way to ensuring Australia’s critical supply chains are more secure and resilient, an issue that gained a lot of attention following huge disruptions at the height of the COVID pandemic:

Husic said the plan will also complement the government’s existing initiatives, such as its funding of almost AU$500 million worth of AI, computer vision and machine learning projects through the National Reconstruction Fund and the Research and Development Tax Incentive and its AI Adopt centres which aim to upskill SMEs. 

Given that blockchain and AI technologies are becoming increasingly linked, the plan may also support the growth of any local AI-based crypto projects and perhaps flow beyond that into the broader industry.

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Plan Should Come Sooner, Says Industry Leader

Simon Bush, the CEO of Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), Australia’s peak body representing the communication and technology industry, said it’s a welcome announcement but it needs to be implemented sooner.

He said Australia has been slow to adopt AI technology by global standards and as a result now sits towards the back of the pack:

Bush urged the government to bring the timeline for finalising the plan forward from the end of 2025 to July 2025, saying the need to stimulate the industry is urgent: