Artificial intelligence (AI) could boost could Australia’s economy by AU$235 billion – but only if we get it right and act now – according to a new report from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) global management consulting firm Kearney.
The report warns that Australia is lagging in the race for AI investment and leadership, with other leading economies investing ten times more in AI infrastructure and skills.
With decisive government action, including an additional $5 billion over five years, the report estimates that between $160 billion to $235 billion could be added to Australia’s economy
The report outlines a blueprint for AI investment, including:
- Creating a network of regional AI factories to connect talent, research, industry and government,
- Building a national AI talent pipeline and developing population-scale AI training, and
- Developing specialised AI models and national datasets covering Australia-specific use cases in national-priority fields such as geoscience and health.
With decisive government action, including an additional $5 billion over five years, the report estimates that between $160 billion to $235 billion could be added to Australia’s economy – or a 6 to 8% increase in GDP.
Align AI with National Interests
“AI is a swift-moving technology and will be critical to Australia’s future security, resilience and independence,” said ATSE CEO Kylie Walker.
“Investment in AI – people, tech and infrastructure – must align with our national interests. For Australia, this means establishing our own sovereign AI capability – both the physical infrastructure and the skilled workforce and partnerships to support it.
“Australia already has the ingredients to become an AI powerhouse – but we need targeted policy and investment to make that happen.”
“Other countries aren’t waiting – they’re spending billions on AI infrastructure and skills.”
“Australia can significantly uplift its productivity and compete at the technological frontier with AI – if it acts now,” said Anshuman Sengar, Partner – Global Data & AI Lead at Kearney.
“Other governments are already investing billions to secure their AI economies and Australia must not fall behind.”
“Re-skilling and up-skilling are the most underestimated drivers of AI adoption,” said Tomas Ptacek, Senior Director – Data & AI at Kearney.
“The government has a unique opportunity to orchestrate a nation-wide capability uplift – especially for small businesses – ensuring Australians benefit from the global wave of high-value AI jobs.”
The report builds on ATSE’s ‘Made in Australia: Our AI opportunity’ vision statement, released in August this year, outlining the case for Australia to develop sovereign AI capability.
