Anthony Albanese to face Silicon Valley tech giants ahead of touting AI agenda at UN General Assembly

Anthony Albanese will face Silicon Valley tech giants this week ahead of using his UN General Assembly address to spruik his tech crackdown on AI and social media platforms.

The Prime Minister is expected to raise his approach to AI and data centre expansion, which includes strict power and copyright rules, with other world leaders at the international forum amid extinction warnings.

Tech bosses lead by Anthropic boss Dario Amodei have called for a “slow down” of AI development and global regulation amid fears it could take “over the entire internet” within six to 12 months before inevitably wiping out humanity.

The Prime Minister’s trip aligns with a highly-anticipated White House summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping over their AI arms race.

Mr Albanese unveiled his plan for Australia to capitalise on the AI demand but only on the government’s terms during a landmark speech in July.

It included requiring tech giants who want to build data centres Down Under to bring their own renewable energy and comply with stricter requirements on the content used to train their models.

The approach has recently attracted an ultimatum from OpenAI who has threatened to withdraw investment from Australia if it doesn’t water down the copyright restrictions.

Mr Albanese told Parliament on Tuesday that he hopes to collaborate with other world leaders who want to benefit from the technology but are also grappling with the challenges associated with rapid adoption of AI.

“Artificial intelligence doesn’t stop at anyone’s borders and our leadership and collaboration with our partners overseas will help us to make the most of AI at home,” he said.

“I will travel to the United States for talks with tech companies, but also to the United Nations in New York.

“There will be a real focus from countries who are all dealing with this challenge that is before us.”

Mr Albanese is expected to meet with Apple boss Tim Cook on the west coast on Saturday before heading to the leaders meeting in New York with foreign minister Penny Wong.

Unlike last year’s trip to America for the international forum, Communications Minister Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant won’t be travelling to the US.

The Prime Minister also acknowledged Australian Signals Directorate director-general Abigail Bradshaw’s call on Tuesday for an “early warning system” for advanced AI models after warning it could impact national security.

Mr Albanese also pledged that Labor would bring forward legislation on Australian standards for artificial intelligence but didn’t set a timeframe for the Bill.

“We must make sure that we use the capacity that we have to ensure that artificial intelligence reflects Australian values,” he told Parliament.

“That it works for people, that it enhances rather than undermines our democracy, that it helps to build our future economic resilience and backs our jobs, that our creative industries are protected, and that the price of using AI is not higher energy bills or scarcer water.

“That’s why we’re going to legislate Australian standards for artificial intelligence.

“We seek to shape artificial intelligence in Australia’s interests.”

Mr Albanese had taken his world-first social media ban for under-16s at last year’s meeting which has since prompted more than 20 countries to adopt or pledge to introduce a similar initiative.

The Parliament this week passed further laws to strengthen the ban, including lifting fines and providing greater information gathering powers, to go after tech companies failing to comply with the protections.