The year started with a tumultuous AI Action Summit in Paris in which Australian policymakers appeared to be caught flat-footed as the US made clear its intention to “unshackle” its tech industry from burdensome AI regulation.
Incoming US President Donald Trump made clear on his first day in office that US tech companies would be expected to “win the race” with China on artificial intelligence and would be given a hands-off AI regulatory system to work within.
He also unveiled the government-aligned Stargate program, a US$500 billion (A$755 billion) infrastructure investment program between OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank, and repealed AI regulatory arrangements put in place by the Biden administration.
For Australia, which had spent the previous two years almost entirely focused on “AI safety” and regulation, the change in approach was head-snapping. When InnovationAus.com asked the Prime Minister at the National Press Club in January about Stargate investment in the US and what impact that might have on Australian policy, he struggled.
To be fair to Mr Albanese, if he were to be asked the question today he would have a much more thoughtful answer – because in our sector, the rest of 2025 has been all about artificial intelligence.
In fact, AI is in the mainstream like never before – and much of the discussion has been about sovereign control of AI infrastructure.
The early Budget gave little away on government’s thinking on AI despite the tectonic shifts overseas, with everyone tightly focused on the looming election in May. The Labor landslide will be marked in the history books, and the Industry got a new minister in Senator Tim Ayres and assistant minister Dr Andrew Charlton.
Labor’s election win brought with it some sweeteners for industry, and Tim Ayres got straight down to business on economy-wide AI.
The Australian Government got a new Chief Scientist in 2025 in oceanographer Tony Haymet, who made a splash in his opening press conference by talking about the potential nuclear energy. But he also got straight on board the push for AI and data centre infrastructure.
The assistant minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton was then dispatched to the US on a study tour of the AI and data centre giants. Given his messaging when he arrived back in Australia, you have to suspect that there is a lot more to come on both foreign investment, as well as sovereign industry development.
The National AI Plan landed with a dull thud early this month, disappointing many. But to be fair, the National AI Plan looked like it was far from a complete document. You get the sense that there’s a lot more to come, sooner rather than later.
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In the news:
- Government exposed by lack of action on AI
- A wake-up call for Australia as AI hits warp-speed
- AI and Australia’s missing data centre strategy
- Sovereign digital infrastructure. Will Australia seize the moment?
- Budget 2025: Dude, where’s my digital economy?
- All Albanese’s innovation sweeteners from the election
- Podcast: PM lifts tech focus in new ministry
- Ayres on Australia’s plan for economy-wide AI capability
- Oceanographer Tony Haymet appointed chief scientist
- Australians must become ‘AI makers, not AI takers’, chief scientist warns
- Australian ambition must include local AI models: Charlton
- AI plan ‘a cop out’ on sovereign capability and energy
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