The Australian Government Must Resist the Temptation to Build Sovereign Artificial Intelligence to Compete Against Tech Giants
Australian Financial Review
SKIPPED
Details
- Date Published
- 5 Sept 2025
- Priority Score
- 2
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 7 Sept 2025, 07:06 pm
Description
The idea that the Australian government will compete with OpenAI, Google, Meta, Amazon, xAI or Anthropic in the global race is flat-out delusional.
Summary
Richard Holden argues that the Australian government's ambition to develop sovereign AI to compete with tech giants such as OpenAI and Google is fundamentally misguided. He suggests that such efforts could distract from more pressing issues like enhancing AI safety through collaboration and regulation. The argument emphasizes the importance of integrating AI advancements into existing frameworks rather than attempting to replicate the capabilities of leading global entities. This perspective highlights the risks of national AI projects becoming obsolete or being outpaced by commercial innovations, impacting Australia’s global competitiveness.
Body
PolicyEconomyAIPrint articleSep 7, 2025 – 5.00amSaveLog 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?LoginI keep thinking about a scene from the movieThe Social Network. Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin meet serial entrepreneur Sean Parker (of Napster infamy and played by Justin Timberlake) at a New York restaurant.Saverin asks Parker to “settle an argument” about whether it’s “time to monetise the site”. Parker cautions against contaminating Facebook with ads, observing: “You don’t even know what the thing is yet, how big it can get, how far it can go.”Loading...Richard Holdenis scientia professor of economics at UNSW Business School.Connect withRichardonTwitter.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 MoreFetching latest articlesDion Lee lost his business. He’s backLauren SamsThe one dish worth $1.4m a year to this iconic Sydney restaurantThe CEO who found her mojo when she demoted herselfWhy PwC’s CEO spends every Sunday on AI ‘homework’Hannah TattersallWe’ve run a 4-day week for years. Here’s what nearly killed itThe surprisingly simple dish this top chef eats for breakfastCan you invest in a watch via your self-managed super fund?Nina HendyTry this watch when you can’t decide between Roman or Arabic numeralsWhy collecting watches is about spotting potential where others don’tPratt settlement keeps Waislitz in control of Thorney empireMax MasonPub king Arthur Laundy has a court double date‘I’m going to f--- you through the courts’: Inside Tony Denny’s world