'You need to accelerate': AI doomsday calls batted away

A former US ambassador has urged Australia to accelerate its development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, dismissing doomsday forecasts as an invitation to speed up progress. Jeff Bleich, now a special envoy for Anthropic, made the comments during a fireside chat hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.

Anthropic and OpenAI executives had previously called for increased pacing in AI development, including independent monitoring and global regulation. Bleich emphasized that accelerating AI research and safety measures is crucial, stating that the biggest fear should be the fear itself, referencing Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous phrase.

He also dismissed concerns about AI replacing white-collar jobs, comparing the impact of cars on traditional industries to the creation of new jobs. However, Digital Economy Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton cautioned that Australia's strategy of focusing on the bottom of the supply chain may not be effective in the AI era, urging collaboration with data centers and AI companies.

Opposition industry spokesperson Andrew Hastie claimed Australia was "not even on the start line" of a global AI arms race, while Greens leader Sarah Hanson-Young accused the government of lacking urgency in implementing guardrails.