Natalie Barr:
For more, we’re joined by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Good morning to you.
Jim Chalmers:
Morning, Nat.
Barr:
So, when the godfather of AI begins to regret his contribution to the invention, should we be concerned?
Chalmers:
I think there’s a whole range of views about artificial intelligence. I’m optimistic that it will be transformational in a good way in our economy but only if we manage the risks right. And so our government is doing a heap of work, including with Scott Farquhar and others who will be part of our Economic Reform Roundtable, to make sure that we maximise the opportunities of AI at the same time as we manage the risks. The risks can be substantial in our labour market and more broadly as well. We need to manage those. But overwhelmingly, I think AI will be transformational in our economy and in our society, and we need to make it work for us, not against us.
Matt Shirvington:
It’s moving so fast, isn’t it, Treasurer? Let’s talk about that roundtable. You said tech billionaire Scott Farquhar is going to be a part of that. He’s for this. He wants more productivity, more investment to expand AI in Australia. Is that required? Is that what we’re going to do? Are we going to take advantage of the time being now?
Chalmers:
I think there are broadly 3 schools of thought here. There’s a group of people who say, let it rip. There’s a group of people who, I think unrealistically, say that we should kind of turn back the clock and pretend these technological developments aren’t happening. And then there’s a responsible middle path, which is the approach that the government intends to take. And that’s all about making sure that our people are beneficiaries, not victims of these big technological changes. This will be seismic. Artificial intelligence will have a massive impact on our economy and on our society. And it’s up to us as governments and as societies to work out how we make that work for us, not against us. To make people beneficiaries of these changes rather than victims of it.
Barr:
So this is the guy who resigned from Google because he wanted to warn the world about the dangers. Are you confident that our country has the safeguards against the bad parts of AI?
Chalmers:
I’m confident that we can manage the risks, but it won’t be easy. And something that is changing this quickly, the pace of change, the accelerating pace of these technological changes, is a big challenge because we need to catch up and keep up with the way that it’s changing our economy and our society. And we need to make sure that its impact is positive, not negative.
The risks are there, they are substantial. We focus on the risks, for example, in the labour market, but also more broadly, and we need to manage that. Every country in the world is grappling with this challenge. Trying to work out how AI can be a force for good in our economy, making us more productive, making our work easier, augmenting some of the tasks that people do at work. Those are the upsides of AI.
There are potential downsides as well, and that’s why we work so closely with the tech industry and with others – my colleague Tim Ayres and Andrew Charlton and Ed Husic before that. It’s a big focus of the government. It’ll be a big focus of our efforts at the reform roundtable next month as well.
Shirvington:
It’s good to hear, because you just don’t want to miss the boat. Just quickly on inflation figures. You know, you’ve been at the helm, you’ve seen them go down and down and down. Low 2s now, paving the way potentially, for a rate cut next month. What do you think?
Chalmers:
I try not to make predictions about decisions that the independent Reserve Bank will take about interest rates, but I’m really pleased that inflation has come down so substantially. It’s a powerful demonstration of the progress that Australians have made together in the fight against inflation. When we came to office 3 years ago, it was higher than 6 per cent and absolutely galloping. We’ve got it down now into the low 2s. That’s a good thing. But the job’s not finished. It’s not mission accomplished.
We know that people are still under pressure and that’s why the main goal of the parliament the last 2 weeks since it’s returned after the election has been to deliver all kinds of cost‑of‑living relief to help ease some of these pressures. But inflation coming down is a very good thing. The unemployment rate staying relatively low is a very good thing. Real wages are growing as well, but we know there’s always more work to do.
Barr:
Treasurer, thank you very much for your time.
Chalmers:
Appreciate it, guys.