Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used his address to the United Nations to argue that artificial intelligence needs stronger safeguards and regulation, following the recent breach of an Australian government website by an AI agent.
Addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Albanese said AI could deliver major benefits in areas including healthcare, productivity and economic growth, but warned about the risks of developing frontier systems too quickly without safeguards.
He said the recent incident involving an artificial intelligence agent accessing an Australian government website was unacceptable.
Albanese said the breach reinforced the need for Australia to establish standards designed to ensure AI operates in the interests of people.
“We can’t ignore AI or prevent it,” Albanese said.
He said Australia had joined other countries in calling for international action to shape the development of artificial intelligence rather than allowing the technology to shape societies without sufficient oversight.
The comments follow the disclosure that an OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to the Medicare statistics reporting service portal operated by Services Australia in June. The government has said no personal Medicare information is believed to have been accessed.
A taskforce is investigating the incident, including potential legal and regulatory gaps. Environment Minister Murray Watt has said the government may change notification requirements and introduce further safeguards following the investigation.
Australia has already announced plans to introduce Australian Standards for AI, with the government saying the framework is intended to capture the benefits of AI while managing safety and other risks. Albanese has previously said national AI standards are expected to be legislated.
Australia By Aussie has previously reported on Albanese describing the Medicare incident as a “wake-up call” and on other political responses to the breach.
Albanese calls AI hack a wake-up call — the prime minister’s earlier response to the incident.
Murray Watt flags law changes after AI breach — the environment minister’s response to the breach and possible law changes.
Albanese backs digital safety push at UN — previous coverage of the prime minister’s UN comments on digital safety.
Source: Australian Prime Minister
