Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton speaks at the Women in Cyber Security Summit at Parliament House in Canberra, on Feb. 6, 2025. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton has warned the public against taking tech companies’ calls for a pause in AI development too seriously.
Amodei warned that if AI development continues at its current pace, a swarm of misaligned AI programs could coordinate to take over the internet within six to 12 months using a network of rogue bots.
However, Charlton warned that people should not place too much weight on commentary from these tech companies, given their “extremely strong financial incentives” to continue developing AI and making money.
“I am not in favour of leaving it to the companies and I’m not in favour of leaving it to the superpowers,” he said at an AI event hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
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“I take that at face value but I don’t think we should care very much about what individual chief executives say or what individual executives claim they want to happen. I think we should care about what is actually happening.”
Shadow Industry Minister Andrew Hastie also spoke at the ASPI event, warning that Australia risks losing its independence and power if it does not build its own advanced AI models domestically.
He suggested working with the United States through the AUKUS security partnership to develop this technology.
“Without a sovereign AI frontier model here in Australia, we are going to be a supplicant state, not a sovereign state,” Hastie said.
“People think it’s making memes on ChatGPT. We’re talking about the global order being changed and Australia falling behind.”
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“We will consult closely with industry and our trading partners to design a framework for faster decision-making, better supporting infrastructure and genuine community engagement,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a speech at the University of Sydney in July.
“It is not our goal to try and legislate for every possible eventuality or risk.
“This is about having the flexibility to keep pace with change—and get out in front of it.”
