The $115 billion a year boost to Australia at the touch of a button
Artificial intelligence could provide a $115 billion annual boost to the economy within five years, lifting the quality of goods and services while generating more jobs, the first examination of the technology's impact on Australia has revealed.
Compiled by OpenAI, the organisation behind ChatGPT, it argues the nation's economic success will depend on the uptake of AI with its chief economist likening the technology to the advent of electricity.
The Albanese government is holding a three-day productivity roundtable in early August with business groups, unions and community organisations to map out ways to lift the pace at which the economy can grow while boosting living standards.
Labour productivity – the amount produced by the number of staff or hours worked – has effectively flatlined in Australia over the past five years, although the IT sector has outperformed almost every other part of the economy.
While AI is promising massive productivity gains, companies involved in its development – including OpenAI – have come under fire on a range of issues, including massive job losses, copyright infringement from information producers such as newspapers, and theft of intellectual property.
Loading
According to OpenAI, the ability of Australia to lift living standards, increase wages and expand growth opportunities will be tied to AI.
It estimates AI adoption would produce $115 billion annually in economic benefits to Australia by 2030, or almost $4000 a person, with 70 per cent of that flowing directly from higher productivity. Its broad findings mirror previous research on the possible gains from AI.
Another $4 billion would flow from new jobs, $6 billion from new businesses and $25 billion from improved quality of goods and services.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Perth Now
44 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Albo hits back at ‘absurd' defence claim
Anthony Albanese has rejected a report detail revealing his deputy, Defence Minister Richard Marles, did not get warship readiness briefings for years. An audit published on Friday found the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has failed to properly maintain Australia's biggest battleships – the HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. It also revealed Mr Marles did not get 'preparedness reports' from Australian Defence Force (ADF) officials 'in 2023 and 2024 due to development of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review'. Instead, Mr Marles was briefed 'through 'other means', including during conversations'. The Prime Minister flatly rejected the finding when asked about it on Tuesday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) has rejected revelations his deputy and Defence Minister Richard Marles (left) did not get key readiness briefings for years. Credit: News Corp Australia, Martin Ollman / NewsWire 'Well, that's just absurd, that's just absurd,' Mr Albanese told Nine's Today. Pressed further, he said Mr Marles was 'of course' briefed. 'That's just ridiculous, frankly,' Mr Albanese said. 'I haven't seen that report, but we sit in the National Security Committee with the Chief of the Defence Force. 'We meet regularly. I certainly have met with heads of all of the armed forces regularly, and that is just completely incorrect.' He said the extra $57bn Labor had pumped into expanding capability 'has come directly after discussions and engagement, obviously with Defence'. 'And in the last budget in March, indeed, we brought forward a billion dollars of additional spending, bringing to over $10bn our additional commitments over the forward estimates as well,' Mr Albanese said. Preparedness reports detail what can be deployed in the event of a war or natural disaster – key information against a backdrop of looming conflict in the Indo-Pacific and increasingly common extreme weather events. Labor's handling of defence has come under a microscope since the US last month demanded Australia hike the ADF's budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Mr Albanese has resisted, saying Australia's national security was a matter for Canberra, not Washington. He has also said his government would first determine need and then allocate funds rather than set a flat GDP target. But the government's position has put Australia at odds with its allies across the world, with all NATO members bar Spain agreeing to lift defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP last week. Closer to home, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have all recently committed to spending more amid warnings from the Trump administration the region faces graver threats than Europe. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took a thinly veiled shot at Australia last week, saying if European countries can agree to hike defence spending, then US allies in the Indo Pacific 'can do it as well'. 'I mean, look, if our allies in Europe and our NATO allies can do it, I think our allies and our friends in the Asia-Pacific region can do it as well,' she said, responding to an Australian journalist. 'But as for our specific relations and discussions, I will let the President speak on those.' Though whether the Trump administration would actually seek to mirror a NATO target for allies in the Indo Pacific remains unclear.

Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘I'm not commenting': Anthony Albanese refuses to respond to Paul Keating's latest criticism plan to double superannuation tax
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to respond to Paul Keating's latest criticism of Labor's unrealised gains tax, telling Sky News Australia he was 'not commenting' on the various things other people had said. The Albanese government is proposing to double the tax on superannuation accounts with a balance of more than $3 million. The tax would also apply to unrealised capital gains, meaning the government would be taxing perceived wealth rather than actual income. Labor has defended the scheme by pointing out the tax would only apply to a tiny number of Australian superannuation accounts, but former Labor prime minister and superannuation architect Paul Keating took a veiled swipe at the proposal on Monday. Mr Keating said 'every young person joining the workforce this year' will have accumulated 'in excess of $3 million at retirement'. When asked about whether the former Labor leader was right in his calculations, Prime Minister Albanese simply praised Mr Keating's creation of the superannuation system. 'Paul Keating is right to support superannuation, and it's a creation of the Hawke and Keating Labor governments (and) Paul Keating, of course, as treasurer, then as prime minister, championed superannuation to improve retirement incomes for Australians,' he told Sky News Australia. First Edition host Pete Stefanovic again asked Mr Albanese whether Mr Keating was right that the average worker would eventually be caught up in the tax. 'Well, these are very modest changes discussed,' Mr Albanese said. Stefanovic pressed the Prime Minister, asking, 'But is Paul Keating right? I'm on Paul keating now,' leading to a terse response. 'Well, good on you. You stay on Paul, I'll stay on superannuation,' Mr Albanese said Asked if he was avoiding it because Mr Keating was right, the Prime Minister said he was 'talking about superannuation and our superannuation guarantee being lifted to 12 per cent'. Stefanovic then asked whether Labor was at least open to indexing the threshold at which the tax would be imposed, pointing out ACTU Secretary Sally McManus had called for this on Tuesday morning. 'I'm not commenting on various things that you tell me other people have said,' Mr Albanese responded. Mr Keating is reportedly furious at the Albanese government over its proposal to tax unrealised gains, with the Australian Financial Review reporting last year that the former Labor leader had called the changes 'unconscionable'. Keating-era ACTU secretary Bill Kelty – who also played a role in the creation of the Superannuation system - has similarly hit out at the changes, describing them as 'flawed' and 'bad policy'.

Courier-Mail
3 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
Anthony Albanese denies Donald Trump ‘snubbing' him amid meet worries
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Anthony Albanese has denied Donald Trump is 'snubbing' him amid growing concerns in both Australia and the US that the two leaders have not yet had a face-to-face. The Prime Minister did a morning media blitz on Tuesday to champion a host of cost-of-living measures kicking in. But with Australian products still slugged with US tariffs and concerns AUKUS could be on the rocks, his relationship with the US President dominated. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied US President Donald Trump is 'snubbing' him. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire / Nicolas Tucat / AFP Appearing on Nine's Today, host Karl Stefanovic put it to Mr Albanese that Mr Trump 'couldn't give a rat's about meeting with you'. 'I think it's so disrespectful,' Stefanovic said. 'And why don't you just tell him to bugger off?' But Mr Albanese took a different view, insisting he has a 'respectful' relationship with Mr Trump. 'No, not at all, and we've had really constructive discussions,' he said. 'I've been respectful of the President and I must say that he's been respectful of me as well when he rang to congratulate me on the election.' Mr Albanese added that he'd had 'constructive discussions with members of the US administration, as have my ministers'. 'But the President has a view about tariffs – it's different from Australia's view and it must be said that it's different from past presidents' views as well,' Mr Albanese said. 'And what most economists realise, (is) that free and fair trade is a good thing for the world and America has benefited from that.' X SUBSCRIBER ONLY Mr Albanese said he had 'a right to represent Australia's national interests', and Mr Trump 'has a right to adopt his America First policy, as he calls it'. Pressure has ramped up on Mr Albanese to secure a meet after his scheduled bilateral meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit fell through last month. On Monday, two of the staunchest supporters of the US-Australia alliance in Washington urged Mr Albanese to visit the White House. Republican representative Michael McCaul and Democrat colleague Joe Courtney are co-chairs of a congressional working group on AUKUS. Mr McCaul said Mr Albanese going to 'the White House would be a great gesture on the Prime Minister's part, that I think would go over very well'. 'That would be very sound advice for him to do that,' he told the Australian Financial Review. Originally published as Anthony Albanese denies Donald Trump 'snubbing' him amid meet worries