Regulatory agencies and their artificial intelligence (AI) experts met in Canberra on 22 May to discuss the use of AI in Government.
Cohort Chair and co-facilitator, Clare Savage, opened the workshop and introduced the co-head of AI CoLab, Finance’s Dr. Paul Hubbard, co-facilitator. Paul stressed the importance of hands-on experience with AI for all staff members, including senior leaders. Building AI proficiency for all staff helps manage risks more effectively, he said.
Finance Secretary, Jenny Wilkinson, provided opening remarks to the Cohort, which were followed by sessions where the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), Intellectual Property (IP) Australia and Australian Taxation Office (ATO) shared insights and learnings on the use of AI within their own organisations.
Key highlights
The workshop highlighted the transformative potential of generative AI in government operations to improve efficiency and productivity, the importance of embracing AI responsibly, fostering a culture of curiosity, innovation and continuous learning, while ensuring robust risk management and governance.
Bruce Young, Executive Director, Technology & Data Division at APRA, shared the potential efficiencies and opportunities to be gained by using AI to generate insights from data sets and discussed the importance of senior management oversight, active governance, strong risk management practices and changing ways of working by encouraging safe testing and experimentation.
ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader Graham Jefferson stressed the need for curiosity among directors to understand AI's complexities, while overseeing AI usage, ensuring governance practices to manage risks effectively.
Michael Schwager, Director General of IP Australia, discussed the organisation's adoption of automated decision-making and AI tools, emphasising the need for a cultural change, co-design to ensure staff engagement and the continuous investment in technology.
The ATO’s Commissioner of Taxation, Rob Heferen, and Deputy Commissioner, Andrew Watson, shared insights on AI's applications by understanding different types of AI and discussed the ATO's use of AI in tax administration, the benefits and challenges in creating vision statements and assisting with tax audits.
The workshop was followed by informal knowledge-sharing and AI demonstrations, including for risk sensing and making public information more easily accessible.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) workshop for regulators.
