Canberra embraces AI data crunch for medicines to tax
AI will be used across the federal government for everything from evaluating medications to detecting tax fraud to increase the nation’s productivity.
A long list of artificial intelligence experiments was announced in the federal budget Tuesday for agencies ranging from Veterans Affairs to the National Library, with some programs expected to save hundreds of millions of dollars.
The government has also announced plans to create a $70 million Artificial Intelligence Accelerator program to boost research into the technology.
The announcements come just days after the government launched an AI online resource to help businesses and published its national plan for emerging technology focused on building local capacity and infrastructure.
The budget announced that Artificial Intelligence Accelerator funding will be provided through the Collaborative Research Center program, with grants to be awarded to projects in 2026 and 2027.
According to the Productivity Commission, technology is estimated to contribute at least $116 billion to economic growth and 4.3 percent to productivity levels over the next decade.
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said the government would also use the technology across multiple departments, making them “more efficient”.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration, for example, will use AI to evaluate drugs approved for use by similar regulators abroad.
If successful, the project is expected to save $340 million annually in administrative costs and time savings.
AI tools are already being used by the Australian Taxation Office to detect and fix potential errors in the myTax program in real time.
New initiatives will allow the National Environmental Protection Agency to speed up project approvals, while the National Library of Australia will use artificial intelligence to transcribe 58,000 hours of audio from its oral history collection.
Veterans Affairs will also use artificial intelligence to process information from large claims, but the trial will be voluntary and require consent from claimants, budget documents said.
The trials will come as the government sets up bodies to regulate AI technology, including the AI Security Institute, the Copyright and AI Reference Group and the AI Employment and Workplaces Forum.
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