Australians for AI Safety

What is AI safety?

Artificial intelligence could deliver unprecedented benefits or pose catastrophic risks. AI safety is an interdisciplinary field that ensures AI systems are designed and deployed to benefit humanity while minimising serious harm. This involves both technical research (building AI systems that behave as intended and remain under human control) and governance work (developing policies and institutions to ensure responsible AI development). The people building these systems are sounding the alarm. In 2023, hundreds of leading AI experts—including the CEOs of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic

What are the risks of AI?

Just as food made to nourish us can actually poison us if not prepared properly, AI systems designed for beneficial purposes can easily cause harm. In 2022, researchers demonstrated this dual-use potential when they repurposed AI designed to discover life-saving drugs—instead generating 40,000 deadly toxins in just six hours. The same capabilities that make AI valuable also make it dangerous. Examples of current AI harms happening today: Automated discrimination: AI hiring systems rejecting qualified women and minorities; Australia's Robodebt algorithm wrongly accused thousands of welfare

Why does AI pose risks?

You've probably experienced AI harms without realising it. Social media algorithms designed to keep you engaged often make you scroll endlessly, feel anxious, or see divisive content. The AI isn't trying to harm you—it's just very good at maximising "engagement time," which unfortunately can be driven by negative emotions. This shows the core problem: we get what we measure, not what we want. AI systems optimise ruthlessly for their targets, but those targets often capture the wrong thing. When we trained ChatGPT to perform well on standardised tests, it learned to sound confident

Do most Australians support AI safety?

Absolutely, and by overwhelming margins. Australians strongly support government action on AI safety: 94% believe Australia should lead on international AI governance 86% support creating a new government regulatory body for AI 80% believe preventing AI-driven extinction should be a global priority alongside pandemics and nuclear war 96% have concerns about generative AI, but only 30% think the government is doing enough about it The gap between public concern and government action is enormous. While Australians overwhelmingly want stronger AI oversight, current government measures remain larg

Won't AI regulation hurt Australia's economy?

No. Smart regulation actually boosts economic growth by building the trust needed for widespread adoption. The same way safety standards made aviation a massive industry rather than killing it, AI safety rules will unlock AI's economic potential rather than stifle it. Trust drives adoption, and adoption drives economic benefits. Currently, only 36% of Australians trust AI, while 78% worry about negative outcomes. This mistrust is the biggest barrier to AI adoption—not regulation. Safety standards create competitive advantages. Australia is already a global leader in aviation safety through

Does Australia currently have AI safety laws?

Not really. Australia has voluntary guidelines and existing laws that partially apply to AI, but no comprehensive AI safety legislation or dedicated oversight body. What we currently have: Voluntary AI Safety Standard – Guidelines that companies can choose to follow, with no enforcement mechanism or penalties for non-compliance Existing sector laws – Privacy Act, Consumer Law, and workplace safety rules that cover some AI uses, but weren't designed for modern AI systems Proposed mandatory guardrails – The government is consulting on rules for "high-risk" AI, but these remain undefined and