Australia has a big opportunity to develop artificial intelligence, but any failure by the corporate and government sector to adapt to the technology will deliver a major blow to the country, a billionaire entrepreneur has warned.
Scott Farquhar, the co-founder of tech giant Atlassian, said Australia was on the edge of a ‘great industrial revolution’ with AI, as he talked up the technology at the National Press Club on Wednesday.
He said taking advantage of existing AI could contribute up to $115billion per year to Australia’s economy by 2030.
‘The scoreboard of the AI era is blank,’ Mr Farquhar said.
‘The race is still on, and Australia has everything to play for.’
Mr Farquhar said the place to kickstart Australia’s productivity with AI was in data centres.
Mr Farquhar said Australia’s strategic location near southeast Asia, as well as having lots of land, could make the country a world leader in AI storage.
He called for the government to change copyright laws to give exceptions for text and data mining to boost AI’s capacity.
Tech billionaire Scott Farquhar has urged Australia to gear up for the AI ‘industrial revolution’. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
The US and Europe have exceptions for text and data mining, which means AI can learn and make informed decisions when tasked to complete an action effectively.
‘There’s huge opportunities for people that are great at what they do, at creating content to sell in a totally new way,’ Mr Farquhar said.
While AI has the capacity to enrich businesses, there are also concerns about what it will do to employment as many jobs are replaced by bots.
Atlassian itself cut 150 jobs on Wednesday.
Mr Farquhar said job losses were inevitable but AI will open other opportunities in unforseeable areas.
He likened the arrival of AI to the introduction of electric trains following the era of steam locomotives, noting people at the time were concerned they would lose jobs, but it advanced the country in the long run.
Mr Farquhar added big businesses needed to increase their part in contributing to AI’s research and development in Australia, with small firms and technology companies leading the way.
He called for the Albanese government to change copyright laws to give exceptions for text and data mining to boost AI’s capacity.
‘The amount we spend is an early canary into how productive and innovative we are going to be in the next decade or two,’ Mr Farquhar said.
‘Big businesses in Australia are falling behind their (research and development) investments.’
Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said improving productivity was important, but not at the expense of AI taking jobs.
