Mandatory AI standards to hit parliament next year, PM warns against copyright ‘theft’
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The news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will introduce AI mandatory standards, including for copyright, to parliament next year, declaring anything less than artists maintaining control over their work is “theft”.
The context: Delivering a major speech on the government’s approach to AI on Wednesday, Albanese said his government would unveil a “clear, consistent, and mandatory” national standard on the technology.
“It is not our goal to try and legislate for every possible eventuality or risk,” he said.
“That only creates the risk of Australia missing out on investment altogether. This is about having the flexibility to keep pace with change and get out in front of it.”
Albanese will seek approval from state and territory leaders at a National Cabinet meeting next month, with legislation to be introduced to parliament in early 2027.
The standards will build on Labor’s national AI plan, released in December, which formed the basis of the government’s national principles for data centres, released in March.
The prime minister also revealed his clearest stance on AI and copyright law, declaring Australian artists “must retain ownership and control of their work”.
“Our laws will spell that out plain as day,” he said.
“An artist’s creative endeavor is their work and their property. No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control, and that includes the artist’s control of the price and value of their work.
“Anything less is theft.”
Artists and media companies have sounded the alarm over major AI companies seeking to build their models by accessing content with no or limited reimbursement.
Pushing back against calls to put the brakes on development, Albanese insisted Australia “can determine AI’s social license, but we have to do it now”.
“It is not a question of if or when AI will transform our economy. We’re past that. The question that matters, the choice that we have, is: how?” he said.
“This is about Australia shaping the future rather than letting the future shape us.”
Albanese sought to frame the plan in a history of Australian global leadership, including the introduction of Medicare and the implementation of an under-16s social media ban earlier this year.
“It is proof of what Australia can do when we back ourselves, where we apply our enduring values to the challenges that are presented by new technologies. We can set a standard.”
What they said: “We cannot revisit this issue after companies have built whatever they want, wherever they want, and try to then reopen negotiations.
“This is our time to decide what AI looks like here,” Albanese said.
The source: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speech
