Australian Inquiry Pushes for Home-grown AI Amid Security and Copyright Concerns

During a parliamentary hearing on Friday, MP Andrew Hastie recounted that Microsoft Copilot suggested he reply “congratulations!” to a constituent who wrote about using voluntary assisted dying. Hastie used the episode to illustrate perceived shortcomings of foreign-run generative-AI tools and to argue for an Australian-controlled AI ecosystem. The hearing also featured testimony from senior defence and intelligence officials about the strategic risks of relying on overseas AI infrastructure.

The Guardian

Abigail Bradshaw, director general of the Australian Signals Directorate, warned that “highly capable malicious cyber actors” could exploit newer models before Australian defenders can respond, underscoring the need for assured, locally governed AI access. Chief AI officer Chris Crozier emphasized the danger of offshore dependence, noting that a simple outage could cripple critical systems. Both officials framed a domestic AI capability as essential for national security and for maintaining operational continuity.

The Guardian

The government is consulting on standards that would require AI developers to report breaches, reserve computational power for local research, and engage with communities when building large datacentres. Copyright reform remains unsettled; assistant secretary Jenna Priestly explained that Australia’s copyright framework protects both domestic and foreign works, making it “practically impossible” for companies to strike individual licences with every rights holder. The prime minister’s office indicated that draft AI standards are expected by the end of 2026, while meetings with OpenAI and Anthropic representatives continue.

The Guardian

Bradshaw advocated stricter oversight and early access to advanced models to secure “more assured… detailed technical access.” Crozier reiterated the goal of keeping compute, applications, data, and decision-making wholly within Australia. Priestly highlighted the scale of content that AI firms seek to train on, arguing that existing copyright protections would require broad licensing arrangements. The Office of AI noted that bringing firms under Australian law would aid law-enforcement efforts and improve defensive capabilities.

The Guardian

• “If a digital adversary has access to newer, more capable models than we do, they may be able to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in systems and networks before we can identify them,” — Abigail Bradshaw, the director general of the Australian Signals Directorate

The Guardian

• “Somebody can’t wake up and have a bad day and decide they’re going to turn it off,” — Chris Crozier

The Guardian

• “We will get more assured access, earlier access, more detailed technical access, and better integration with technical experts at the frontier,” — Abigail Bradshaw, the director general of the Australian Signals Directorate

The Guardian

• “As Australia’s copyright framework protects not only copyright material that’s Australian in origin, but worldwide, I think it is a fairly large number that [companies] would need to go and strike deals with,” — Priestly

The Guardian