Canberra federal agencies follow new AI framework

The federal government has published a list of consumer protection priorities for artificial intelligence that includes requirements for government agencies to follow a framework ensuring decision making is fair and accurate when using AI. The framework forms part of priorities that also include strengthening privacy laws. Australia will tighten oversight of artificial intelligence in automated government decision making and strengthen privacy safeguards as part of a broader push to allay concerns about the technology's risks to community safety.

A new list of AI consumer priorities published by the government includes a promise to better regulate the use of AI in federal agencies like Centrelink and Services Australia and revisit personal data protection laws. Pressure has been building on the government to commit to human intervention in the administration of government schemes particularly in social services balanced with a desire to use emerging technology to boost productivity. In May Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth said humans would remain involved in the Jobseeker payment process as she announced an overhaul of the unemployment system.

Last year the Commonwealth Ombudsman found almost a thousand jobseekers had their income support payments unlawfully terminated via automatic cancellations. The government has also faced scrutiny over automated elements of the aged care home support program as well as a planning tool in the National Disability Insurance Scheme that generates budgets for participants. Earlier this year the ombudsman opened an investigation into the algorithm based aged care assessment tool.

The government has also committed to reconsider protections for consumers and singled out retail surveillance pricing the practice of farming data to set different prices for individual consumers based on behaviour as a priority issue. In its first term the government legislated a tranche of strengthened privacy protections for consumers but could not find support for a crackdown on advertising. AI is shaping as a major focus at the Labor Party National Conference in Adelaide later this week.

Sources: abc.net.au.

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