ICMEC Australia has welcomed today’s announcement of a new Office of AI within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, saying bringing Australia’s AI response into one coordinated strategy is exactly the kind of leadership child safety needs to keep pace with the technology.
‘AI touches every industry, from defence to education to the arts, and child protection is only one part of that picture,’ said Dannielle Kelly, ICMEC Australia’s Head of Government Affairs and Law Enforcement Outreach, who was in the room at the University of Sydney for today’s address. ‘But it is the part our SaferAI for Children Coalition exists to get right, and today’s announcement shows government is listening.’
Ms Kelly pointed to the global leadership Australia has already shown through its social media reforms, and work happening across parliament on the nudify app ban, digital duty of care, and AI companion chatbot regulation, as proof that coordinated action on child safety works.
For two years, ICMEC Australia has been raising AI’s risks and opportunities for children as a national priority, engaging across parliament to get there. ‘Our children are growing up with this technology whether we plan for it or not,’ Ms Kelly said. ‘Today is a positive sign Australia intends to make progress in this space.’
