Description

To paraphrase a line from British politician George Galloway, when it comes to building Australian capability in the information technology sector, the Coalition and Labor are two cheeks of the same arse. There is no daylight between the guiding philosophy of both sides of politics on IT. And that, of course, is the notion that it is enough for Australia to be an early adopter and sophisticated user of information technology developed overseas – that we don’t need to be a developer of such technology ourselves to enjoy its productivity benefits.

Summary

This article critiques the parallel approaches of Australia's major political parties, the Labor and Coalition, toward information technology development. The focus is on their shared strategy of positioning Australia as an adopter rather than a creator of advanced technologies, which raises questions about Australia's future competitiveness and capability in the IT sector. While not directly centered on AI safety, the policy parallels presented could impact national strategies on AI and its potential risks. The discussion indirectly pertains to AI governance by highlighting the need for more proactive innovation policies.

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