The Real Threat to Workers Comes from Bad AI Policy, Not AI Itself
Australian Financial Review
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Details
- Date Published
- 7 Aug 2025
- Priority Score
- 3
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 10 Aug 2025, 01:49 pm
Description
AI is undeniably reshaping how creative works are produced. Policymakers should be open to reforming Australia’s decades-old copyright regime so that it’s built for this era.
Summary
The article critiques the potential negative impacts of poorly structured AI policy on workers and productivity rather than AI technology itself. It highlights the tensions in Australia between business sectors and unions amid new AI regulations proposed by the Minns Labor government, which could mark the country’s first significant legislative effort in AI governance. The discussion also calls for updating Australia’s outdated copyright laws to adapt to the evolving digital and AI landscape. Although it touches upon significant policy changes within Australia, its focus on AI policy's direct economic implications on workers limits its depth regarding catastrophic AI risks.
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PoliticsFederalThe AFR ViewPrint articleAug 8, 2025 – 6.16pmSaveLog inorSubscribeto save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?LoginFrom the printing press to the personal computer, the early stages of meaningful innovation have tended to cause worry and apprehension. That dynamic now occupies debates about how hard artificial intelligence should be regulated and has deepened the rift between business and unions in Australia.The latest flashpoint is the Minns Labor government’s surprise push this week to spearhead thenation’s first express regulation of AIin the NSW parliament, catching businesses off guard.Loading...The Australian Financial Review’s succinct take on the principles at stake in major domestic and global stories – and what policy makers should do about them.SaveLog inorSubscribeto save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreThe AFR ViewOpinionIndustrial relationsALPTrade unionsCopyrightMedia bargaining codeOpenAIProductivity CommissionAustralian economyFetching latest articlesThe 25 new watches you need to know nowLuke Benedictus and Bani McSpeddenWhat OpenAI’s Sam Altman suggests you do to keep your jobThis Australian watch reseller is making its move on London and NYCTop directors tell Chalmers to ditch tax and focus on growthSally PattenClimate reporting: What directors need to know in year oneHow this CEO used an AI podcast to prepare for a panelCadillac’s first-ever EV is a head turner – but is it worth the price?Tony DavisThe stress buster this Sydney VP turns to when work overwhelmsHow to avoid the toxic side of health trackersKroonenburg lands big valuation for AI ad agency CuttableYolanda RedrupJustin Hemmes appeals nightcap knock-backCowin-backed plant-based meat start-up buys US fake chicken rival