Strategic Investment Needed to Harness AI Benefits

Dr Sue Keay, Director of the UNSW AI Institute, highlights the transformative potential of artificial intelligence on Australia’s productivity. She stresses the need for strategic investment to ensure benefits are not diverted offshore. Dr Keay states, “Productivity can be directly linked to our standards of living. And so typically if you start to see productivity stagnating, then that can influence how much we can afford to buy from other countries and generally how comfortable we feel with the wage that we’re all receiving.”

According to Dr Keay, the efficiency with which goods and services are produced underpins economic growth, wages, and living standards. She explains that efficiency gains are harder to achieve through human output compared to technological developments, emphasizing, “There’s a limit to how much you can improve a country’s productivity just through labour productivity alone, because I’m sure people probably don’t feel that they can work that much harder than they currently are.”

AI as a Key Driver of Productivity

During a discussion on UNSW’s Engineering the Future podcast, Dr Keay explained that AI can automate repetitive tasks, enhance efficiency, and support decision-making on a large scale. She said, “The opportunity with artificial intelligence is that both at an individual level and at a company and governmental level, they can be applied across a whole range of functions.” The technology could also help address labour shortages in key industries, making it possible for organisations to do more with limited resources.

AI offers solutions across various sectors where human resources are scarce. Dr Keay noted, “If you can start to scale a lot of those solutions and in particular areas where we find it difficult to find people to do work, then that’s obviously an advantage.” However, she warns of the risk that Australia may miss out on AI’s value. Much of the global AI capability is concentrated in a few overseas companies, posing long-term economic risks if not addressed.

Dr Keay expressed concerns about data control, stating, “If we have more control of our data, then that lends itself for us to build our own AI-specific models beneficial to us.” The shift towards AI is inevitable, and Australia must adapt to harness these benefits effectively.