Government's use of AI to be examined

The government’s use of artificial intelligence is set to be examined by a wide-ranging new federal inquiry.

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) - whose remit is to “hold Commonwealth agencies to account” - said Thursday that it was aware of increased AI adoption by the public sector, “but also a lack of adequate governance frameworks to regulate and monitor this use.”

The inquiry will seek to identify current, planned and future uses of AI by public sector entities, and review whether “existing legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks that are relevant to the use of AI … are fit for purpose.”

It will also examine misuse risks, oversight mechanisms in place to review AI-generated or assisted output, and internal capability in the public sector “to effectively adopt and utilise AI into the future”.

The inquiry said it would lean on existing submissions around how Commonwealth agencies use AI that were collected as part of an inquiry into Commonwealth financial statements 2022-23.

Other submissions are invited before October 25.