While AI has immense potential to improve wellbeing and grow our economy, Australians want stronger protections in place to help manage the risks, according to the recent Australian Government’s interim response to the consultation on Safe and Responsible AI in Australia conducted last year. The interim response includes feedback from stakeholders and how the government will ensure AI is designed, developed, and deployed safely and responsibly. While consultations will continue on possible mandatory guardrails, immediate actions are being taken.
There is a global race to build guardrails for AI development and deployment to ensure responsible AI practices are developed in parallel with a rapidly accelerating Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape. The National AI Centre’s Responsible AI Network aims to bolster Australian industry’s use of responsible AI, providing best practice guidance, tools and learning opportunities. Here, is the list of critical reading and resources as recommended by experts.
Separately, Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) engages with AI and consumers by supporting a representative to the Standards Australia Technical Committee IT-043 Artificial intelligence as part of the CFA Standards Project.
This year, Consumers International has selected ‘Fair and responsible AI for consumers’ as the theme for World Consumer Rights Day 15 March 2024. Misinformation, privacy violations, and discriminatory practices are concerns, as well as how AI-driven platforms can spread false information and perpetuate biases. We must move quickly to address these issues for a fair and responsible AI.