Submission to DISR – Safe and responsible AI

As AI and new technologies quickly evolve, the Federal Government should focus on creating a legal and regulatory framework that ensures that when businesses use new technologies, including AI, that consumers are kept informed, treated fairly and not subject to unsafe practices. The Federal Government must fast-track reforms for consumers in the digital economy to ensure Australians are protected from current and future harms. Failure to strengthen consumer protections will mean businesses will be able to implement AI tools that make predictions that leave people worse-off, aggregate data that leads to exclusion or expose people’s vulnerabilities for commercial gain. CPRC’s submission to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources urges the Federal Government to prioritise the following economy-wide reforms:

• Introduce an unfair trading prohibition to protect consumers from businesses that unfairly exploit their customers.
• Reform the Privacy Act to bring Australia’s protection framework into the digital age. Introduce a general safety provision to clearly make companies responsible for delivering safe, secure data-driven products and services.
• Increase enforcement resources for regulators to proactively operate within a complex digital environment.
• Provide clear pathways for consumers to access support when experiencing digital harms.

In addition to these reforms, CPRC recommends that the Federal Government at a minimum:

• require businesses to clearly label when AI is being used and how it has been established
• invest in and enable AI and ADM innovation in the not-for-profit sector to improve community outcomes
• implement regulator sandboxes to enable safe testing and learning environment prior to deployment.