The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is calling for feedback on how to improve Australia’s regulatory settings and systems and make the most of the opportunities presented by the digital economy.
Releasing its Issues Paper, Positioning Australia as a Leader In Digital Economy Regulation – Automated Decision Making and AI Regulation, PM&C’s Digital Technology Taskforce said emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making, offered opportunities to improve the products and services people used in their work and personal lives.
“There are estimates that AI could contribute more than $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030,” the Taskforce said.
“However, they are challenging established regulatory frameworks and systems,” it said.
“Outdated or uncertain regulation can impose barriers in adoption or undermine existing protections and rights.”
The Taskforce said ensuring regulation and regulatory systems remained fit for purpose and agile was essential to maximising the opportunities and managing the risks new technologies presented in the digital economy.
It said to take advantage of the opportunities AI and automated decision making (ADM) presented, “we will need to harness our collective capabilities, talent and resources to be both early adopters, but also significant contributors to the progress and regulation of these technologies”.
The Taskforce said the consultation process focused on examining how the country’s regulatory settings and systems could be modernised to ensure they were fit for the digital age and facilitated accelerated and responsible uptake of new technologies.
“Appropriate regulatory safeguards can limit bias in automated systems, ensure private information and data remains protected, and promote transparency in ADM, which will be increasingly important as these technologies become more advanced and widespread,” it said.
The Taskforce said people could provide their input on the Issues Paper until 22 April.
PM&C’s 15-page Issues Paper can be accessed at this PS News link.
