Keynote talk at the 2021 Australasian Conference on AI. A summary of Australia's global standing in AI, a bit of history, and where Australian AI is going next

1. Australia’s National Science Agency
The State of
Australian AI
Jon Whittle
Director, CSIRO’s Data61
3/2/22

2. AI to global economy Digital to Australian economy
by 2030
• Australia’s standing in AI
• How did we get here
• Where we are going
This talk

3. First, a bit about me…
• 15 yrs old – published my first
(and last) AI game
• 21 yrs – studied AI at University
of Edinburgh
• 26 yrs – went to NASA to build AI
systems
• 30 yrs – “AI will never work”
• 45 yrs – “Wait. Maybe it will.”
• 48 yrs – Responsible for
Australia’s National AI Centre

4. Australian AI Standing
Global AI Vibrancy Index (2020) – 8th
research – 5th
economy – 11th
inclusion – 11th
Nature AI Index (2020) – 9th
3 top 100 Universities
Global AI Index (2021) – 11th
infrastructure – 38th
development – 4th
talent – 15th
Government AI Readiness Index
(2020) – 12th
strong on vision, weak on size
responsible use – 18th
AI Brain Drain Index
US-only

5. Australian Responsible AI Index (2021)
Responsible AI Index Report (2021). Fifth Quadrant, Ethical AI Advisory, Gradient Institute
Figure taken from report: https://www.fifthquadrant.com.au/2021-responsible-ai-index

6. Australian Attitudes to AI (1)
Australian public attitudes toward AI and society. Neil Selwyn, Beatriz Gallo Cordoba, Mark Andrejevic
and Liz Campbell. Monash University (2020)
Public Knowledge of AI ~25% know ‘a fair bit’ or ‘a lot’
Public Support for AI 64% somewhat or strongly support
Support for AI Applications Strong support in medicine,
environment, crisis response; low
support in culture generation and
surveillance
Regulation of AI 87% support a new regulatory body
Who’s trusted? CSIRO and Universities Y
Big Tech Companies N
AI for Social Good 69% agree that AI will do more
‘social good’ than ‘social harm’

7. Australian Attitudes to AI (2)
Trust in AI, a five country study. KPMG & University of Queensland (2021)
Public Knowledge of AI ~60% have a low understanding; 83% want to know more
Public Support for AI 28% willing to trust AI systems in general
Support for AI Applications More supportive in healthcare; less supportive in HR
More supportive in workplace automaton; less supportive
in workplace surveillance
Regulation of AI 81% expect AI to be regulated
Who’s trusted? Universities and research institutions Y
Government and Companies N
(Australians more trusting than other countries)
AI for Social Good 57% more willing to use AI if mechanisms in place

8. The story so far
• Australia’s AI Roadmap (2019)
• Australia’s AI Ethics
Framework (2019)
• ACOLA AI Report (2019)
• Australian Human Rights
Commission Report (2021)
• Australia’s AI Action Plan
(2021)

9. Some notable examples*
*these are all CSIRO examples

10. Data61’s Spark platform models bushfire
spread patterns to help fire fighters.

11. Crown of thorns starfish tracking

12. Robotic Exploration

13. Social robots to support children with autism

14. NLP matching patients to clinical trials

15. CSIRO’s Data61 put 2,400 sensors on the Sydney Harbour
Bridge.
Combined with machine learning and predictive analytics they
tell engineers where & when a fracture will happen before it
happens.
That makes the bridge safer. It can also save money.
Infrastructure monitoring and maintenance

17. • Focus 1: Developing and adopting AI
to transform Australian businesses
• Focus 2: Creating an environment to
grow and attract the world’s best AI
talent
• Focus 3: Using cutting edge AI
technologies to solve Australia’s
national challenges
• Focus 4: Making Australia a global
leader in responsible and inclusive AI
Australia’s AI Action Plan

18. https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/ai/national-ai-centre

19. Information Session, Feb 7
Application Deadline, Feb 28
https://www.csiro.au/en/work-with-us/funding-
programs/programs/next-generation-graduates-programs

20. Digital Technologies for recovery and resilience
Take the lead in promoting digital as a key enabler for post COVID economic recovery (e.g future digital
manufacturing) as well as resilience against future pandemics and natural hazards (climate change,
drought, bushfires, flooding etc), and cybersecurity.
Reinvent scientific discovery through digital
technologies
Take the lead in demonstrating how digital technologies including AI can accelerate scientific discovery
with a focus on working with other disciplines to open up new markets.
Drive the development and adoption of Artificial
Intelligence in Australia
Act as an enabler to bring together Australia’s strong AI capabilities, avoiding siloing and fragmentation
and enabling Australia to take a lead on the world stage stage despite its relatively small size.
Data61 Strategy

21. National AI
Centre
AI4Missions
Next
Generation AI
Graduates
MLAI FSP
CINTEL
FSP
Reinventing
Science
Future Digital
Manufacturing
Normal
Business
Federal Government
CSIRO
National Initiative
FSP
directly related
indirectly related
CSIRO BAU
Fed Gov
funded
CSIRO
funded
CSIRO AI Strategy

22. Australian AI
now is the time….

23. Australia’s National Science Agency
CSIRO’s Data61
Prof. Jon Whittle
@Jon_Whittle_
Director
Thank you
data61.csiro.au/