Australia will establish an Office of AI to coordinate artificial intelligence standards and oversee major data centres as the government prepares new laws on their energy and water use, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday (15 July).
The office will sit within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, giving ministers a whole-of-government mechanism after what Albanese described as a sector-by-sector response to the technology.
Speaking in Sydney, Albanese said Australia had moved beyond the question of whether AI would transform the economy and now had to decide what the technology should look like in the country.
He said the approach would give investors clearer approval pathways and a more streamlined compliance process, while planned legislation early next year would set rules on where major data centres are built and how much power and water they use.
The announcement comes as Australia seeks to position itself as a leader in AI and a hub for data centres, even as the rapid growth of the technology raises concerns over jobs, energy costs, safety, security, intellectual property and environmental pressures.
Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie warned that an unchecked AI-driven surge in data centres could push up prices and increase climate pollution.
Australia currently has no dedicated AI laws, relying instead on privacy and consumer protections alongside a voluntary AI ethics framework.
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An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Parts of Europe and the Arctic will briefly fall into darkness on Wednesday, 12 August, as the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun in a total solar eclipse.
Meta said one of its AI models hacked another company's systems during cybersecurity testing, intensifying concerns about how developers can contain increasingly capable AI systems following similar incidents involving Anthropic and OpenAI.
Scientists say the accidental crash of a discarded SpaceX rocket stage into the moon has provided valuable data on impact cratering while posing no threat to Earth or lunar hardware.
AI agents developed by Anthropic and OpenAI carried out unauthorised online actions during cybersecurity tests, including creating fake identities to deceive real people and attempting to plant malicious code, the U.K.'s AI Security Institute (AISI) said on Tuesday (5 August).
SpaceX has reported a sharp rise in quarterly revenue, fuelled by strong demand for its Starlink satellite internet service and rapid growth in its artificial intelligence (AI) business.
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