Strictly regulating AI could inhibit Australian economic growth: report
CANBERRA: A report by an independent advisory body of the Australian government has found that strictly regulating artificial intelligence (AI) would inhibit the country's economic growth.
Published on Tuesday night (Aug 5) by the Productivity Commission (PC), the government's independent advisory body on economic, social and environmental issues, the report found that AI will likely increase Australia's economic output by more than US$75.1 billion over the next decade.
It said that the federal government should check for, and fill, gaps in current regulation exposed by AI but that AI-specific regulation should only be considered as a "last resort."
"Adding economy-wide regulations that specifically target AI could see Australia fall behind the curve, limiting a potentially enormous growth opportunity," Commissioner Stephen King said in a statement.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labour Party federal government is currently considering a legislative response to the rise of AI technologies, including a possible AI Act that would force AI-generated content to be labelled and impose mandatory safeguards on AI deemed high-risk.
The PC report, which was commissioned by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, was released ahead of the government convening business leaders, trade unions and economists for an economic reform roundtable at Parliament House in Canberra from Aug. 19-21.
According to the agenda released by Chalmers last Friday, the entire second day of the gathering will focus on boosting Australia's productivity.
The PC report found that AI could drive a 4.3 per cent increase in labour productivity over the next decade.
Additionally, it said that giving individuals and businesses greater access to data that relates to them would increase competition and innovation, delivering productivity gains worth up to US$6.4 billion per year. - Xinhua
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