The Productivity Commission has prepared this submission to the Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI). The submission makes three key points in relation to opportunities to adopt AI in ways that will benefit economic growth.

1. AI has significant productive potential: The Commission is of the view that AI will have a substantial impact on productivity and could help to overcome some of Australia’s longstanding productivity challenges. While much AI uptake is likely to occur without government intervention, the foundations for digitisation will be important for widespread adoption and government needs to continue to enable both the rollout of digital infrastructure and uplifting of digital skills.
2. Regulation should enable AI adoption, not stifle it: The Commission has outlined a framework for regulating AI, which focusses on using existing regulation and regulators to manage risks from AI applications wherever possible. The Commission has identified health as an area where strengthening existing regulatory guardrails may assist in managing AI risks and bolstering confidence in its use.
3. Getting data access right will facilitate quality AI use: The Commission has made recommendations to improve data sharing, including extending data sharing arrangements to trusted private entities under the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 (Cth) (the DAT Act) and developing a national strategy for data to facilitate sharing within the public sector, and challenging data excludability in the private sector.