Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence

ATSE's letter to the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence draws on ATSE's previous AI submissions and reports.

The submission highlights previous recommendations on AI including regulations on utility use by AI data centres, investing in sovereign AI capability and investing in the workforce and R&D needed for Australia to be an AI powerhouse.

Recent AI publications:

• Made in Australia: Our AI opportunity, demonstrating the opportunity for Australia to invest in sovereign AI capability
• Unleashing growth: Australia's AI investment blueprint, outlining 6 priority enablers for an Australian AI industry
• Submission into the inquiry into Artificial Intelligence and data centres

These initiatives could help AI lift Australia’s GDP by 6% to 8% over the next decade, adding up to AU$160 billion to AU$235 billion to the economy in 2034, with potential of additional benefits if AI unlocks breakthrough innovations in areas such as healthcare, biotechnology, or robotics.

ATSE makes six recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Invest in sovereign AI capability, including Australian-owned and managed AI infrastructure, models and datasets.

Recommendation 2: Require new data centres to underwrite additional renewable electricity generation and storage capacity, to support increased electricity demand and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.

Recommendation 3:Extend energy performance reporting requirements beyond government data centres by mandating the public disclosure of key metrics, including Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), for large data centres across Australia.

Recommendation 4:Develop a national water reporting framework for data centres that requires consistent disclosure of both direct water consumption and indirect water use associated with electricity generation.

Recommendation 5:Support industry-research partnerships to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation energy-efficient computing technologies such as quantum computing.

Recommendation 6: Incorporate data centre workforce needs into national skills and infrastructure workforce planning.