source : the age
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is addressing the UN General Assembly in New York. Follow along with our livestream here.
The prime minister has acknowledged the challenge of managing the “furious pace” of artificial intelligence development.
Anthony Albanese is now touting Australia’s tech reforms, just a day after announcing to the world that a rogue OpenAI agent had hacked a government service.
He said more than 20 countries had followed Australia’s teen social media ban, which he spoke about at the UN General Assembly last year, and spruiked the impending digital duty of care as giving power back to users.
“The technological development that must now be the subject of public discussion is artificial intelligence,” he said, noting the benefits of AI in boosting productivity and driving technology developments.
The prime minister says the global multilateral system is under “immense strain” and in need of reform, but should not be abandoned.
“We must embrace change and reform… building beyond multilateralism with new coalitions and partnerships to address and solve complex problems,” Anthony Albanese says.
He says Australia is showing leadership in the Indo-Pacific, naming diplomatic efforts with Pacific nations, Japan, India and the Republic of Korea.
“We are elevating relationships that help to build sovereign capability and offer nations sovereign choice, free from coercion, so that our partners can address the big issues confronting them: economic security, human development, energy security, transnational crime, sovereign capabilities, trade and investment, and science and technology.
“We are developing these new partnerships while continuing to work closely with our principal ally, the United States, and our major trading partner in China. Australia stands for a safer world where no country dominates and no country is dominated.”
Anthony Albanese has moved on to make his direct pitch for the temporary Security Council spot for 2029-30, emphasising Australia’s role as a middle power.
“We understand that the UN mission cannot be entrusted solely to the great powers, or the biggest countries, or even the loudest voices alone,” the prime minister told the General Assembly.
“Nor can it be sub-contracted to the world’s richest companies or dictated by the pace of technology.
He said Australia wanted to play its part in addressing the “tough times” facing the world.
“As a member of the UN Security Council, Australia will safeguard the rules that protect us all by upholding international law, including the UN Charter, and the sovereignty of all states,” he said.
“We will amplify the voices of small states and middle powers to ensure a wider range of perspectives shape the council’s decisions.”
Anthony Albanese’s trip is culminating with an address to the United Nations General Assembly, which he will use to hammer home his pitch for Australia to gain a seat on the Security Council.
The prime minister has begun his speech, joining other leaders in giving national statements as the summit in New York winds up, by urging greater collaboration between nations on the “new challenges we face: climate change, emerging technology and the breakdown of international rules”.
“In this moment we need to lean in and strengthen and modernise the fundamental parts of the UN system that help to build peace and promote economic development and sustainability,” he said.
He said global prosperity and economic justice were the surest ways to minimise potential conflict.
“We can reaffirm our national sovereignty—and our shared humanity. We can seize and share and shape the opportunities this moment holds, in the interests of our citizens. But we can only do it together.”
A tech-heavy guest list, the fashion choices of those on it and their body language will be closely monitored as the state dinner honouring China’s President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the White House gets ready to kick off.
US President Donald Trump has already labelled the dinner “the hottest ticket in town” during this week’s United Nations General Assembly. “Everyone wants to be there.”
Trump and Xi may have focused on tensions over artificial intelligence, trade and Taiwan.
First lady Melania Trump’s menu features a first course of yellow squash veloute with wild mushrooms, fresh herbs, crispy pancetta and drizzled scallion oil.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is addressing the UN General Assembly in New York. Follow along with our livestream here.
The taskforce launched yesterday to investigate the OpenAI Medicare hack met just hours after being convened as the government races to assess the adequacy of Australia’s laws in protecting against rogue agents.
Australia’s national cybersecurity coordinator, Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, said experts across government had already met and were closely considering how Australia needed to adapt as AI technology rapidly evolves.
“We’ll work very quickly through understanding gaps, opportunities, and challenges that we’ll need to address, and then to bring those forward to government,” she told ABC TV this morning.
“As the coordinator, my role… is to coordinate nationally significant incidents. So, understanding how we respond to… unauthorised agent behaviour. Understanding how do we detect, respond as efficiently and effectively as we can to ensure that we minimise harm and mitigate the consequences, and also that we are resilient to move through it and not be impacted by these incidents.”
Hello and welcome back to our live coverage of Australian and world news this Friday, September 25. Here’s what you need to know today.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York earlier this morning. He said accusing Israel of genocide was “the greatest lie of the century”. As he walked to the podium, scores of delegates walked out. A majority of seats sat empty as he spoke.
- Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House for a bilateral meeting.
- Australia will press criminal charges against OpenAI “if possible”, senior minister Murray Watt said this morning, and the government will develop new laws to improve the notification system for similar breaches after the company alerted Services Australia to a June breach via email in September.
- And Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will address the UN at about 9.30am. We will bring you live updates from his speech here.
Assistant Minister for Technology Andrew Charlton has explained why prosecuting OpenAI for its Medicare hack may not be possible under Australian law, as the government considers strengthening legislation.
“An AI agent is not a legal person, and in our law, liability for this type of incident always sits with a person or a company,” Charlton told Radio National.
“In this situation, where the breach was conducted by an AI agent, the liability has to be traced back to the intent of a person or a company that created or directed the agent.”
He said the government was seeking advice on whether the incident could be referred to the Australian Federal Police, and through the rapid review, whether the law needs to be strengthened.
“This is clearly an important cyber breach, and it’s right that it be investigated.”
The US government is seeking to join a legal challenge filed by SpaceXAI boss Elon Musk seeking to dismiss a €120 million ($195 million) European Union fine for breaches of online rules by his social media platform X.
President Donald Trump’s administration has filed an application to intervene with the EU’s General Court in support of X’s effort to annul the landmark case. The fine, issued by the European Commission in December, has since become a flashpoint in increasingly fraught transatlantic relations.
“The European Commission inappropriately attempted to expand its regulatory authority to reach American companies not present or operating within its jurisdiction,” assistant attorney-general Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate the European Commission engaging in regulatory overreach to try and control American engines of innovation and economic growth.”
