Opinion: SA needs its own sovereign AI capability

From Robo-debt and Robo-doubt to Robust Democracy. Democracy 2036 executive director Matt Ryan tells how Artificial Intelligence can be used in the pursuit of better government and democracy.

As the state election campaign gets underway, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate efficiencies and make government better is already on the agenda. But in a low-trust environment, how can AI’s promise of better government be realised?

One of the biggest claims made for AI is that it can automate repetitive work, freeing up time to focus on tasks that need human skills. For government that means teachers spending more time with struggling students, doctors and nurses doing less paperwork and providing more care, and public servants solving complex community problems.

This is the kind of AI-enhanced future the South Australian Government’s AI Strategy Discussion Paper envisages. But it’s a vision that confronts low trust in government and AI.

Research has found that just one in three Australians believe people in government can be trusted. Australians’ trust in AI fares little better, with fewer than half believing AI’s benefits outweigh its risks.

Trust in technology hasn’t been helped by the Robodebt scandal, where the focus on efficiency obscured a devastating human cost for some of our most vulnerable citizens.........

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