Three Experts Appointed to Lead South Australia's Royal Commission into AI
ABC News
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Details
- Date Published
- 1 Oct 2026
- Priority Score
- 4
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 1 Oct 2026, 02:00 am
Description
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has appointed former federal court judge Dr Iain Ross AO to lead a royal commission into artificial intelligence alongside experts Kate Pounder and Christopher Manning.
Summary
The South Australian government has established a Royal Commission into Artificial Intelligence, appointing Dr. Iain Ross, Kate Pounder, and Professor Christopher Manning to lead the inquiry. The commission is tasked with examining legislative frameworks to ensure the safe and responsible development and deployment of AI, explicitly addressing the need to safeguard society from AI-related risks. While the primary focus includes economic productivity and labor market shifts, the inquiry represents a significant Australian jurisdictional effort to establish formal governance and safety standards for emerging technologies. This development is a notable regional advancement in AI policy that could influence national standards for mitigating systemic or catastrophic harms.
Body
SA Premier announces three experts to lead Royal Commission into AITopic:AIPosted Thu 1 Oct 2026 at 11:24amThu 1 Oct 2026 at 11:24amThu 1 Oct 2026 at 11:24am, updated Thu 1 Oct 2026 at 11:53amThu 1 Oct 2026 at 11:53amThu 1 Oct 2026 at 11:53amKate Pounder (left) and Iain Ross (second left) will lead SA's Royal Commission into AI alongside Christopher Manning (not pictured). (ABC News: Thomas Kelsall)Former federal court judge Dr Iain Ross AO has been appointed to lead South Australia's Royal Commission into Artificial Intelligence.The other two commissioners announced by SA Premier Peter Malinauskas today are former Tech Council of Australia CEO Kate Pounder and artificial intelligence expert Christopher Manning.Mr Malinauskas said Dr Ross is also Reserve Bank's monetary board member, the chair of the Net Zero Commission and was president of the Fair Work Commission at "a time of great change within the labour market.""Iain's expertise are critical because one of the key focuses of the royal commission is to consider what the implications are of AI on the future of work more broadly," he said."We know that AI is already changing the way people live, but most critically the way they work"Iain has a full appreciation of how government policy can have an impact on the way we work."Mr Malinauskas released the royal commission's terms of reference, tasking the inquiry to examine the "economic societal opportunities and implications resulting from AI in South Australia".This included looking into opportunities, barriers and policy settings for AI to improve productivity, innovation and economic growth to "enable South Australian industry to be nationally and globally competitive."The royal commission will also look at how SA can leverage the social benefits of AI, while safeguarding people and society from any AI-related risks and challenges.It will also examine legislative frameworks required in the state to encourage "safe and responsible development, deployment, adoption and use of AI across industry, government, research and the community".The royal commission is expected to deliver a report to the government no later than July 1 next year.Loading