"Regulating the behaviours, not the technology is a welcome conclusion from the Productivity Commission's latest Five Pillars report," said Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association, Australian Industry Group.
"Many of the behaviours that are cited as risks of the use of AI, such as misinformation, discrimination and unfair practices, are already regulated under various pieces of existing regulation.
"Whether you are standing on a snake oil box, using a fax machine, or AI tools, misrepresenting your products and services is already prohibited.
"We need to have a mature conversation about access to data that both recognises the rights of private individuals and maximises the potential for the productivity uplift so often promised. This includes recognising that community attitudes to privacy have shifted once again, and that we need to avoid the risk of prioritising process over outcomes when determining our regulatory approach.
"The current regulatory regime doesn't give individuals or organisations any true agency over their data, while hamstringing businesses to a tick-a-box exercise, and does nothing to foster a privacy-centred culture in Australian business.
"To grow a domestic AI industry, we will need to understand how to maximise the value of our sovereign data as a national resource. Harmonising and digitalising how Government collects data is an important first step," Mr Willox said.
