RAFF CICCONE: Australia must jump into the AI capability arms race
RAFF CICCONE: The US has demonstrated it has the ability and the will to shut off access to AI systems. Should that happen again, Australia needs to be inside the tent with our ally.
I’ve just returned from Washington DC, where I was with members of the US Congress, defence officials and tech executives. They all wanted to know one thing: is Australia serious about artificial intelligence?
It’s a fair question.
Over recent months, Australia’s national conversation has largely focused on data centres. How much power they’ll use and how much water they’ll require for cooling. These are legitimate concerns, and the Prime Minister’s new AI framework goes a long way to answering them.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Anthony Albanese was right to put this issue at the centre of the national agenda and right to focus on the foundations needed for the future: a new Office of AI, mandatory standards for data centres and a legislated framework for responsible AI development.
But there’s a bigger story in this announcement. This isn’t just about power and water. It’s about Australia building the capability to do its part alongside our most trusted ally, the United States, at a time when hostile actors are racing to exploit AI for their own advantage.
Here’s why that matters.
In June, access to two of the world’s most advanced AI systems, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, built by the American tech company Anthropic, were briefly switched off for users after the US government restricted their access. Frontier AI models are powerful tools of great strategic consequence. We can’t afford their use by malicious actors. These models must also be employed creatively and quickly if we are to maintain an edge.
It’s critical that if the US restrict frontier AI access, Australia is in the tent. We’re well placed through the trust built in the Five Eyes partnership, but also because of reforms like the Albanese Government’s defence controls reforms, which provided Australia with far greater access to US technological capability.
It’s also a reminder of something every member of the intelligence and security committee I chair thinks about. The more capability Australia builds here at home, the more we contribute to a collective effort that extends beyond our own borders. Strategic competitors are pouring billions of dollars into AI to gain an edge over free, open and democratic societies. Every secure data centre, skilled worker and capability we develop makes Australia a stronger partner and a harder target.
The new national AI framework has rightly been described as an investment opportunity, attracting the billions of dollars of global capital chasing AI infrastructure. That’s true and it’s welcome. It’s also an opportunity for Australia to build the skills, infrastructure and capability needed to compete in an increasingly technology-driven world and strengthen our long term economic and national resilience in a contested region. It’s the same instinct that has made the Australian Signals Directorate one of the world’s most respected cyber and signals intelligence agencies. When Australia commits to building serious sovereign capability, we don’t just keep up — we contribute and lead.
Being a trusted partner also means being a smart one. Australia must do what any confident country should do: set strong terms, protect our data and ensure that when companies build here, Australians share in the value created.
A credible, well-governed AI and data centre sector doesn’t just create jobs in places such as Western Sydney or regional Victoria, though it will do that too. It will ensure Australia isn’t just relying on the alliance, but strengthening it at a time when the most advanced AI models are becoming as central to national security as submarines, drones and cyber capability.
It was encouraging to see this thinking reflected at the ALP national conference in Adelaide, where Federal Labor backed building Australia’s sovereign AI capability and supported empowering our AI Safety Institute to hold this technology to Australian standards.
Delegates, like myself, also backed real protections for workers, including making sure Australians receive a fair share of productivity gains from AI, proper access to upskilling opportunities and maintaining safeguards against intrusive workplace surveillance.
That’s the right approach. The challenge isn’t to fear this technology, but to shape it on our own terms so it delivers benefits for the people who’ll be building and using it, not just the companies selling it.
None of this removes the legitimate questions Australians are asking about energy, water and the impacts of technological change. Those questions deserve answers, which is why the Government’s standards are so important.
Australians should also understand the opportunities that often don’t get a mention: the chance for our country to carry real weight, alongside our closest ally, in the technological contest that will shape our future.
I came home from Washington more convinced that Australia has an important role to play. The data centres around the country aren’t just server farms and this framework isn’t just an investment plan. It’s part of how Australia builds the capability, resilience and sovereignty needed for the next era of technology.
By investing in responsible AI capability, Australia can stand alongside our most trusted ally — not asking for a place in this contest but ready to help shape its outcome. Prime Minister Albanese and Federal Labor have put us on the right path to get there.
