Australia has stronger AI bargaining chips than we realise
Our AI future will depend less on so-called ‘sovereignty’ and more on knowing where we hold leverage in an increasingly volatile global market.
Last week, the US government kicked off a new phase of global AI competition when it ordered Anthropic to immediately suspend non-US citizens’ access to its latest AI models, Claude Fable and Claude Mythos.
Whether these abrupt restrictions prove temporary or permanent is less important than what they tell us: Australia’s access to critical tech capability from international partners, including our major allies, can’t be taken for granted.
The news will undoubtedly fuel calls for Australia to pursue “AI sovereignty”, raising familiar questions. Do we control the technology? Shouldn’t we build it all ourselves?
These questions are important. But in today’s complex global AI landscape, this binary approach is increasingly insufficient and unrealistic.
