Federation Chamber (part 2 of 3)

15 September 2026

Federation Chamber Australian Parliament

09:59 - 10:03
Speaker 1
Are there any constituency statements by honorable members?  I call the member for Wentworth. 
10:03 - 12:01
Speaker 2
Deputy Speaker.  In the last week we've seen leaders in the world's pioneer AI companies like Anthropic and AI and OpenAI paint an alarming picture of the speed at which technology is developing, potentially beyond human controls.  These CEOs spoke about their concerns and also the need their own responsibilities, but they are calling on governments around the world to step up into this space and I believe that this is urgent.  Now, I want to put on the record very strongly that I think that Australia needs to embrace AI.  I recognize the benefits. 

I believe that Australian businesses need to seize the opportunities for productivity and if we don't we will be left behind.  I see the role for data centers in our country both from a sovereign sovereign capability piece, but also because of the potential benefits to the energy grid and the clean energy transition.  But we also need to be honest about the risks and we need to be addressing those actively.  And I know that my community is concerned.  I launched a survey earlier this week about AI and already have had hundreds of response and an overwhelming number, 71% said they were very concerned about AI in general and listed catastrophic risks such as AI takeover, AI enabled terrorism or extreme threats as their number one concern. 

And with other concerns including misinformation, disinformation and threats to democracy, environmental and climate impact, job losses and economic disruption. 

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