Artificial Intelligence Success in Australia Will Hinge on Public Trust, Says Labor’s Andrew Charlton
Australian Financial Review
ENRICHED
Details
- Date Published
- 1 June 2026
- Priority Score
- 3
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 1 June 2026, 02:00 pm
Description
The use of automated tools is creating a backlash over fears of higher costs and unemployment, and the government says the public needs to see the benefits.
Summary
Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton argues that social license and public trust are the primary determinants of successful AI adoption, outweighing raw compute or financial investment. While the speech focuses largely on economic productivity and unemployment concerns, it emphasizes that a public backlash against perceived harms could stall the development of governance frameworks necessary for safe AI deployment. The Albanese government’s position suggests that building institutional trust is a prerequisite for managing the long-term societal impacts and safety risks associated with frontier AI systems. This perspective aligns with global efforts to integrate safety and ethics into national AI strategies to prevent catastrophic social and economic disruption.
Body
TechnologyAIPrint articlePaul SmithTechnology editorJun 1, 2026 – 10.30pmThe winners of the artificial intelligence race will not be the countries with the most investment or the largest number of high-end computer chips, but the ones that have convinced people that the technology is in their best interest, Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton has warned.In a speech laying out the Albanese government’s views on how to encourage the growth of the productivity-enhancing tools, turbocharge investment in the data centres that underpin them and allay concerns that the technology will push up bills and unemployment, Charlton says the sector needed to win public trust to avoid a major backlash.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to 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 MoreAIAI SummitBusiness Council of AustraliaAndrew CharltonOpenAIGoogleMetaFetching latest articles