Australia news live: Albanese signs declaration with world leaders urging human control over AI; city of Sydney bans smartglasses | Australia news
Albanese signs declaration with world leaders urging human control over AI
Anthony Albanese has joined the leaders of more than 20 countries in signing a statement calling to bring the rapid growth of artificial intelligence under control.
“AI must remain under human direction, oversight and control. It must be developed and used in line with international law,” the statement said.
Leading scientists and executives are warning that the pace of development could outpace our ability to manage emerging risks.
The Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Spain’s PM, Pedro Sánchez, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, also signed the statement.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives, to strengthen our economy and productivity, and to massively advance science and medical breakthroughs,” Albanese said.
But humans need to be in control of it. If it’s going to be successful, then we need to make sure that humans are at the centre of everything that occurs.
Albanese told reporters Australia had played a “central role” in the statement.
I was in direct discussions with [Finnish] president [Alexander] Stubb, and we continue to engage with our neighbours.
The statement also sounded the alarm on AI systems being able to circumvent safeguards and gain unauthorised access to several systems.
The signatories called for AI companies to develop transparent safety protocols and for governments to develop common standards for the technology.
It also urged the UN to explore options to create an international institution that could set out AI standards.
Key events
Government working to tackle all facets of domestic violence, including ‘monetised misogyny’ online
Chalmers was also asked earlier if the government would support a national royal commission into violence against women and children. He said the government had chosen to increase resourcing for child and family violence and domestic violence, adding to the ABC:
We’re trying to deal with the sources of all of this violence, whether it be more security in the housing system, whether it be the monetised misogyny that we see online – there are a whole range of factors feeding in here.
We do acknowledge that all of this violence is obviously entirely unacceptable. It’s horrific in every way. That’s why we’ve increased the resources and that’s why we all need to do better to do everything we can to make a difference here.
Chalmers says Australia has ‘a lot going for us’, despite ‘pretty serious’ economic pressures
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is making the media rounds this morning after the release yesterday of the intergenerational report.
He said the government remains optimistic, despite some “pretty serious budget pressures and economic risks”. He told RN Breakfast:
We’ve got a lot going for us as well. And one of the things we’ve got going for us, even in the context of these very substantial budget pressures that come from things like ageing and other pressures in our economy, is we’ve actually got a budget which is substantially stronger than other countries.
Chalmers stressed that the difficulty of entering home ownership remained the “defining intergenerational challenge” facing too many Australians.
We could have left everything exactly as it was. We could have acknowledged the intergenerational unfairness that exists in the housing market and done nothing about it. We chose to make some difficult changes.
Tanya Plibersek says we need to use ‘all of our big systems’ to better tackle domestic violence
Tanya Plibersek, the minister for social services, said she was struck that a spate of alleged domestic violence incidents this weekend weren’t previously identified by police.
Plibersek spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying that fact showed how the country needed to use “all of our big systems”, including health, mental health, the school system, Tafe and the university sector to help identify and tackle risk. She said:
All of these big points of contact as potential systems where we can identify that there is a risk that there’s family, domestic or sexual violence happening and be able to intervene earlier.
She went on to say increased funding was part of the solution and “bigger changes” were needed:
It’s not just about funding. There’s also, I think, a much broader role for our community …
Support for victims and survivors, making sure that we’re intervening earlier, enhancing supports for children and young people, focusing particularly on sexual violence, which is the area where we’ve seen really extraordinary growth in incidents, focusing on reducing online harms and holding perpetrators to account. All of these things will be part of our second action plan as well.
Albanese signs declaration with world leaders urging human control over AI
Anthony Albanese has joined the leaders of more than 20 countries in signing a statement calling to bring the rapid growth of artificial intelligence under control.
“AI must remain under human direction, oversight and control. It must be developed and used in line with international law,” the statement said.
Leading scientists and executives are warning that the pace of development could outpace our ability to manage emerging risks.
The Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Spain’s PM, Pedro Sánchez, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, also signed the statement.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives, to strengthen our economy and productivity, and to massively advance science and medical breakthroughs,” Albanese said.
But humans need to be in control of it. If it’s going to be successful, then we need to make sure that humans are at the centre of everything that occurs.
Albanese told reporters Australia had played a “central role” in the statement.
I was in direct discussions with [Finnish] president [Alexander] Stubb, and we continue to engage with our neighbours.
The statement also sounded the alarm on AI systems being able to circumvent safeguards and gain unauthorised access to several systems.
The signatories called for AI companies to develop transparent safety protocols and for governments to develop common standards for the technology.
It also urged the UN to explore options to create an international institution that could set out AI standards.
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over for Martin. It’s a gloomy morning here in Sydney. Let’s get to it.
Albanese meets with EU leaders ahead of UN general assembly
Anthony Albanese has met with Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly, to talk free trade, China, critical mineral and AI.
The prime minister and president of the European Commission were joined by the president of the European Council, António Costa.
The trio discussed geopolitical issues, including ongoing support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and Iran, as well as relations with China and the Pacific.
They also agreed to continue deepening cooperation on economic security – including on critical and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Cooperation between the EU and Australia when it comes to critical raw minerals was also on the agenda, ahead of the Team Europe business mission to Australia next month.
“They agreed to remain in close contact with a view to explore the potential for further strengthening and deepening of EU-Australia relations,” a statement read.
It comes after the EU invited Canada to become an associate member – though the council has no such category – with some speculating Australia could follow suit.
We’re doing everything we can to curb domestic violence, Chalmers says
Catie McLeod
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the Albanese government is committed to doing “everything we can” to address to domestic violence after a horrific weekend of violence in New South Wales.
Chalmers made the comments to ABC’s 7.30 program last night after a mother allegedly fatally stabbed a child and wounded two others in the Blue Mountains and, separately, three other women were allegedly murdered inside their homes across the state.
Chalmers noted expert views that a lack of accessible housing played a role in domestic violence, along with the “magnitude” of misognystic content online. He also said frontline staffing was crucial.
I work closely with the prime minister and [women’s minister] Katy Gallagher and the relevant ministers to make sure that police and others get the resourcing they need, working with state governments.
Chalmers says migration needed for falling birth rate
Catie McLeod
Jim Chalmers says migration is necessary to support Australia’s ageing population, and can help the nation as birthrates tumble.
The three-yearly intergenerational report found that the declining birthrate meant more Australians will be dying than being born in 40 years’ time – the first time the report had made such a prediction.
Chalmers told 7.30 Australia’s birthrates were falling faster than anticipated just a few years ago, because people are taking the decision to have smaller families later in life.
He said, in this context, “any objective observer would conclude that we need responsible levels of migration” to support the ageing population:
Migration is a force for good in our economy and in our society.
We will continue to make the case for getting that net overseas migration down in the most responsible way, that balances all of the key considerations in our economy and in local communities.
His comments come after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, last week unveiled long-awaited changes to immigration rules, promising to bring down net overseas migration (Nom) to 245,000 this financial year, and 225,000 in 2027-28.
City of Sydney council bans smartglasses in community facilities
Catie McLeod
The City of Sydney has banned smartglasses in all its pools, libraries, gyms, childcare centres and town halls.
The council agreed to update signage and guidance to prevent people wearing the glasses in community facilities, due to growing privacy and harassment concerns.
In a statement, Greens councillor Matthew Thompson said his motion included exemptions for those who use the glasses as accessibility devices, including those with vision and hearing loss.
He urged the federal government to do more to regulate the glasses and prevent their misuse, saying that:
Overseas we’re seeing women being targeted and harassed in public and recorded without their consent. We don’t want what’s happening in the US to happen here.
That’s why we’re banning smart glasses and other wearable recording devices from all of our pools, gyms, childcare [centres], libraries and other council spaces.
Cheap wearable devices like smart glasses are already flooding the market. But instead of stopping this problem, the federal Labor government has dumped it on to councils to sort out.
We need an import ban on these cheap, intrusive devices until we have stronger privacy protections and clear standards implemented nationally.
Last week, Sydney’s Canterbury-Bankstown council introduced its own restrictions on the technology. Its mayor, Bilal El-Hayek, decried what he called “pervert glasses” as the council barred the wearable tech from public pools.
In August, Brisbane city council became the first to ban the glasses from pools. Melbourne’s Yarra council has banned them from playgrounds, childcare centres and gyms.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the Albanese government is committed to doing “everything we can” to address to domestic violence after a weekend of violence in New South Wales. More coming up.
