The Australian Financial Review
Details
- Date Published
- 2 Oct 2026
- Priority Score
- 5
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 3 Oct 2026, 12:00 pm
Authors (1)
- Hannah WoottonENRICHED
Description
Sam Altman was never going to front a state royal commission but SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has still got some OpenAI pedigree involved.
Summary
The South Australian government has established a Royal Commission into AI safety and regulation, appointing a panel including Stanford University machine learning expert Christopher Manning and former Tech Council of Australia CEO Kate Pounder. This development marks a significant institutional escalation in Australian AI governance, specifically targeting the assessment of technology safety and regulatory frameworks. The inclusion of high-level academic and industry expertise suggests a focus on both technical frontier capabilities and the socio-political implications of AI deployment. As a rare sub-national royal commission into emerging technology, its findings could set a precedent for broader Australian and global regulatory responses to AI-related risks.