Schultz urges Australia to look beyond datacentres in AI strategy
Julianne Schultz argues that while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s speech on artificial intelligence was a good start, Australia must confront larger questions regarding sovereign data capacity, security, and public benefit to avoid becoming dependent on foreign infrastructure.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered a speech outlining government processes to mitigate past mistakes and ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence extend beyond datacentre construction. In response, Julianne Schultz, author of The Idea of Australia, wrote in The Guardian that while the address was a good start, Australia must address broader issues including sovereign data capacity, security, public benefit, and local research infrastructure.
Schultz warned that without these measures, Australia risks becoming a cloud hostage, a term referenced in a May review by the John Curtin Research Centre regarding physical, legal, and operational control from abroad. The context highlights AI as a transformative technology comparable to the introduction of electricity, with global leaders such as Demis Hassabis and Dario Amodei describing its speed and impact as unprecedented.
Schultz also noted that countries like Canada and the UK are making significant public investments in strategic AI capacity to protect data sovereignty. She cited personal encounters where AI agents are already replacing human roles in workplaces and assisting with complex research, underscoring that the technology has crossed a tipping point in the past six months.
While Albanese spoke of creating secure jobs and avoiding a short-term boom in capital expenditure, Schultz argued that international investment alone is insufficient. She pointed to discussions in the United States about sovereign wealth funds to support displaced workers and moral challenges highlighted by Pope Leo, suggesting these structural questions need serious attention in Australian policy debates.
Angus Taylor responded to the Prime Minister’s speech with a comment that the only jobs created would be in the Prime Minister’s office. Schultz described this response as missing the weight of the moment, noting that the next six months will be critical to turning the vision into legislation and reality.