Albanese AI Speech Expected Without Copyright Law Changes as Ministers Differ on Reform

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is scheduled to deliver a major speech on Wednesday outlining the government's plans for regulating and capitalising on artificial intelligence. The address follows reports that the government abandoned a dedicated AI act in favour of a hands-off approach but is now considering a more interventionist strategy.

The Guardian reported that senior Labor sources describe ministers as split on copyright reform.

Industry minister Tim Ayres and assistant minister for the digital economy Andrew Charlton are the most enthusiastic about attracting AI investment. Attorney general Michelle Rowland and arts minister Tony Burke are determined to protect the rights of creatives.

Last year the federal government ruled out granting AI companies a legal exemption to mine content to train large language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.

Albanese stated last week that the government has a strong record of supporting creators having control over their work and receiving proper compensation when it is used. The government has stated it has no plans to grant a text and data mining exemption allowing AI companies to scrape content without infringing copyright.

A concrete announcement on changes to copyright laws is not anticipated as part of the Wednesday address.

Anna Funder addressed journalists at Parliament House earlier this month and described herself as a victim of crime in reference to technology companies using her literary works. The Productivity Commission floated a copyright exemption in a report last year.