Leading AI researcher Toby Walsh told the National Press Club that Australia risks 'supercharged' harm from unregulated artificial intelligence, according to the ABC. His warning comes as the government considers regulatory frameworks and other nations rush to implement AI controls.
Walsh is one of Australia's top AI voices, and he's not prone to alarmism. If he's warning about supercharged harm, policymakers should listen.
The UNSW professor and leading AI ethics researcher used his National Press Club address to outline the risks of allowing artificial intelligence to develop and deploy without adequate safeguards. His concerns range from immediate harms like AI-generated disinformation to longer-term risks around autonomous systems and algorithmic bias.
The timing of Walsh's warning is notable. Australia is already experiencing AI-driven disinformation campaigns, including the recent case of a Sri Lanka-based Facebook page using AI-generated videos to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment. That's not a theoretical threat - it's happening now.
Walsh argued that Australia needs to move quickly to establish regulatory frameworks before AI systems become too entrenched in critical infrastructure and decision-making processes. Retrofitting regulation after the fact is far more difficult than building it in from the start.
The challenge is balancing innovation with safety. Australia has a growing AI industry that argues over-regulation will stifle development and send talent overseas. But Walsh and other researchers contend that smart regulation actually enables sustainable innovation by building public trust.
Internationally, the regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly. The European Union has moved ahead with comprehensive AI legislation, while China has implemented strict controls on certain applications. Australia risks being caught in the middle - too slow to shape global standards, too late to protect against emerging harms.
The 'supercharged' metaphor is apt. AI takes existing problems - disinformation, bias, privacy violations - and amplifies them to scale and speed that humans can't match.
Observers noted that Walsh's warning comes from someone deeply embedded in the AI research community, not an outside critic. That should carry weight with policymakers still calibrating their response.
The government has signaled it's considering various regulatory approaches, from voluntary industry standards to mandatory requirements for high-risk applications. Whatever path is chosen, Walsh's message is clear: the time to act is now, before the harms he warns about become reality.
