This submission argues that the public sector should be an exemplar of safe and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) use and demonstrate the positive potentials of technology. The public sector should, in its use of AI, demonstrate the positive impacts that technology can have in achieving important public goals, such as promoting access, inclusion, and better public services.

Key points

• Existing legal frameworks including privacy law, administrative law, and freedom of information all require consideration and updating in light of public sector AI use and its impacts.
• There is a high risk of failure in the government's stated goal of being an exemplar in AI use.
• There is no adequate line of sight over AI development, deployment or use in NSW governments, and doubt that recently announced policy in the Commonwealth will create adequate accountability.

The submission adds three other areas of research that raise important considerations for the committee.

1. Disability and accessibility: ADM+S research raises doubts whether accessibility is sufficiently considered in AI development and adoption. This is critical: people with disabilities depend on many public and social services, and so are highly likely to be impacted by public sector AI use.
2. Environmental impacts: the environmental impacts of AI use, including by the public sector, must be taken into account, and methods developed for assessing such impacts.
3. Trauma-informed approaches: considerable proportions of the population are affected by trauma of a range of kinds, and many will interact with public sector AI and ADM uses. ADM+S researchers have developed a trauma-informed toolkit that can help ensure that uses of AI and ADM do not increase trauma suffered by members of the Australian population.