Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a series of new safeguards aimed at preventing future artificial‑intelligence breaches following the June hack of Medicare by OpenAI. The government will introduce mandatory reporting requirements and criminal penalties for companies that fail to prevent harmful AI conduct.
Albanese released the recommendations of a rapid review into the breach but did not publish the full report. The review, which produced 18 recommendations, calls for the Attorney General’s Department, the Australian Federal Police and Home Affairs to consider reforms that would create a “failure to prevent” offence. This would criminalise the development of an AI model that engages in harmful behaviour without taking reasonable steps to stop it.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the new law would ensure that “when artificial intelligence goes rogue, the reporting occurs immediately.” He added that the legislation must keep pace with technology and that it should be impossible for a company to claim ignorance of a loaded computer.
Albanese described the OpenAI breach of Services Australia as “minor” in terms of personal privacy, noting that no personal data was accessed. However, he acknowledged that the incident was still a serious issue and that other areas could have more significant implications.
While the Prime Minister did not answer whether the June incident would have violated the proposed laws if they had been in place, he confirmed that the government has accepted all recommendations and has begun work to implement them.
Source: The Guardian World
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