Data centres alone won’t make Australia an AI nation
The Academy is proposing a 2.5% levy on data centre operators, to ensure the AI boom pays off for Australians.
- 3 mins read
Australia needs national supercomputer capability, data centre operators to pay their fair share and enforceable safety standards, to ensure the AI boom pays off for Australians.
In its submission to the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, the Academy warns that without investment, Australia could end up hosting the world’s AI infrastructure while seeing none of the returns, with research, intellectual property and commercial revenues instead flowing offshore.
The joint select committee is looking at both the opportunities and risks of the technology in Australia, with the Academy proposing a 2.5% levy on revenues of AI providers, hyperscalers and data centre operators.
Modelled on Australia's successful rural research and development levies, it could then fund national computing infrastructure and AI research, which is in the national interest.
Academy Fellow, Sally-Ann Williams FAA FTSE, told the inquiry on behalf of the Academy that a levy would “turn demand from a resource hungry sector into national capability and potentially the most consequential productivity solution we have”.
“Australia is in a critical moment in time. Australia will either be a creator of AI or merely a consumer who hosts infrastructure for others,” she said.
“Relying entirely on offshore AI capability is an escalating national risk. But if we are bold enough to demand reciprocal investment into Australia's AI capability, we have a profound opportunity to secure Australia’s economic resilience and scientific future for generations to come.”
Data centres draw heavily on Australia's energy, water and land. The Academy is also calling for infrastructure to be built to the country’s best-practice standards and says it must deliver lasting benefits for the community.
The Academy supports mandatory AI safety requirements, as recommended in early advice from the Joint Select Committee. Companies training high-risk AI agents in Australia, or using Australian infrastructure, should have to prove those systems are safe and report any serious problems.
The Academy’s Head of Science Policy and Advice, Dr Hayley Teasdale, said strong controls must always stay in place, including when developers deliberately lower a model’s safeguards to test it.
“These are technical questions that need scientific expertise,” Dr Teasdale said. “The Academy brings together leading experts in computing, data science and AI, and we're ready to help government get the detail right.”
The Academy also welcomes early advice from the Joint Select Committee recommending a coordinated national policy to encourage investment in domestic supercomputers.
The Academy has previously proposed an investment of $200 million per year over 10 years for high-performance computing and data.
Dr Teasdale said investing in AI infrastructure would propel Australian productivity in a way that is urgently needed.
“Not investing now will not only stall productivity but lead to the Australian Government paying significantly more to access this infrastructure over the decades to come,” she said.
