The Australian Parliament Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit in its report Inquiry into the use and governance of artificial intelligence systems by public sector entities - 'Proceed with Caution' offers the following recommendations
1 The Committee recommends that the Australian Public Service Commission introduces questions on the use and understanding of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies into its annual APS Employee Census. This should be done as soon as possible in consultation with the Digital Transformation Agency and other entities with the relevant domain expertise. The following should be among the information sought by this part of the census: the specific types and sources of the technology being used, from automated decision-making through to generative AI activities and tasks for which these technologies are being utilised and the impact of this on specific decisions and actions the levels and types of training that had been provided for these systems and the level of confidence of the respondent to effectively use them the control and management of the outputs of these technologies the level of understanding of the risks associated with AI-generated decision-making, including potential biases.
2 The Committee recommends that the Australian Government convenes a whole of Government working group within 12 months of this report to consider the following:
- standalone legislation that will govern the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies for the benefit of the Australian public
- updates to the Archives Act 1983 to account for emerging technologies in accordance with the advice of the National Archives of Australia
- the establishment of mandatory rules and governance requirements for the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies across the Commonwealth public sector
- all mandatory requirements to stipulate that AI systems must not be deployed for the surveillance of public sector staff and must establish clear thresholds for AI involvement in decision making processes
- a standardised glossary of terms and definitions that will apply across government
- a consistent and coordinated training framework that is mandatory for all Commonwealth entities
- where the responsibility for enforcing any new legislation or mandatory rules should sit and
- the frameworks that will be used to ensure compliance increased cooperation between the Australian Government and international partners (Allies and multilateral forums) to maximise the benefits of AI while mitigating risk and utilising best practice
These frameworks must ensure any risks, including sovereign risks, and biases that result from the adoption of these technologies can be effectively mitigated. This includes inadequate datasets, biometric biases and inaccuracies, disinformation and propaganda, foreign and electoral interference, online harm, cyber-crime and copyright violations.
3 The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establishes a statutory Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies to provide effective and continuous Parliamentary oversight of the adoption of these systems across the Australian government and more widely.
The Act that establishes this Committee should include provisions that:
- any legislation that concerns the use of these technologies must automatically be referred to the Committee for inquiry
- the committee reviews relevant legislation or regulations to ensure no loopholes exist in the protection of human rights, democracy and freedoms
- the enactment or amendment of any legislative rules regarding the use of these technologies must be approved by the Committee
- the implementation and amendment of any Commonwealth rules and guidelines regarding the use of these technologies by the public sector must be approved by the Committee
- any statutory appointments that directly relate to the use of these technologies must be referred to the Committee for approval
- the Committee report to the Parliament annually on the use of AI systems across the federal government.
4 The Committee recommends that any guidance issued by the Digital Transformation Agency, or any other Australian Government agency, clearly define all AI systems and applications. Given the significant differences between some of these technologies, separate guidance should be developed for each.
