Australia doesn't need sweeping new AI laws, IBM says
As Australia’s government grapples with how to enforce AI rules, one of America’s original tech giants has warned that a new law or regulator could be counterproductive.
IBM’s head of government affairs has advised Australia against introducing sweeping new laws to regulate artificial intelligence, urging the government to lean on existing rules instead.
The government has proposed mandatory guardrails for AI development and deployment but has yet to decide whether those safeguards should be overseen by existing regulators or if new laws — or even a new agency — are required.
Speaking to Capital Brief during a visit to Australia, IBM VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Christina Montgomery, said her company believes strongly in the former approach.
“I firmly believe that we should not be setting up a single regulatory body and a new law that governs every application of AI,” Montgomery said. “The absolute right place to start is with the existing laws that are in place today and with the existing regulators, because the risks associated with AI are going to play out in very domain specific ways.”
