The Western Australian government has appointed a seven-member board of experts to advise on artificial intelligence as the the public sector looks to ramp up its use.
The AI Advisory Board, announced over the weekend, consist of leaders with technical, legal, academic, cyber security, community engagement and governance backgrounds that will each serve a two-year term.
It makes Western Australia one of only two jurisdictions with such an advisory group in place and comes several months after the state released its AI policy and assurance framework.
Among the inaugural board members is former NSW chief data scientist Ian Opperman, who chaired a similar AI advisory Committee in the eastern state and oversaw the development of NSW’s AI assurance framework.
Dr Opperman, who was also appointed the federal government’s Data Standards Chair for Digital ID and the Consumer Data Right in December, joins six other academics, public servants and other industry leaders. They are:
- Alex Jenkins: Curtin University AI in Research group chair and WA Data Science Innovation Hub director
- Natalia Kacperek: WA Department of Premier and Cabinet chief data officer
- Dr Wei Liu: University of Western Australia Associate Professor computer science
- Adam Lloyd: East Metropolitan Health Service area director for community and virtual care
- Janie Plant: Capgemini senior legal counsel
- Gohar Rind: Yira Yarkiny Group managing director
Innovation and Digital Economy minister Stephen Dawson said the board will advise on the design, build and use of AI or other data-driven tools in the public sector, ensuring “appropriate checks and balances are in place”.
This includes assessing all proposed government AI projects, systems, and use that has been funded through the Digital Capability Fund, has a total cost exceeding $5 million, or is still considered a mid- to high-risk project after mitigation.
State government agencies are already required to assess their AI-related systems and projects against the state’s AI Policy and Assurance Framework, first released in March 2024.
Such a requirement is also in place in NSW, which has required agencies to assess all AI projects since March 2022. Changes to the AI assessment framework last year, however, mean that only systems with high levels of residual risk undergo external review.
The NSW government AI Review Committee (formerly known as the AI Advisory Committee) helps review the state government’s high-risk projects in line with the state’s framework.
Mr Dawson congratulated the founding AI Advisory Board members on their appointment and said they will bring a “wealth of knowledge, experience and diversity in the rapidly evolving AI technology”.
“The talent that exists in Western Australia within AI technologies and related areas is inspiring and I look forward to working with the board members to enable innovative, secure, safe and responsible use of AI across the WA government,” he said.
The state government also said the board’s composition represents “diversity in perspective including gender, region, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and cultural and linguistic backgrounds”.
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