Australian PM urges world leaders to act on AI in UN speech

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged world leaders to confront unchecked artificial intelligence and climate change in his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Speaking on Friday, Australian time, Mr Albanese said: “Whether it is climate change or artificial intelligence, there is always the temptation to say that our generation is being confronted by issues our predecessors could not have imagined.”

He added: “We can rise to meet these new challenges now. We can reaffirm our national sovereignty and our shared humanity … but we can only do it together.”

The speech came a day after it was revealed that an OpenAI agent had hacked into a Medicare statistics website. Mr Albanese said AI was evolving at a “furious pace”.

“(The Medicare hack) is unacceptable, and it is why Australia has been leading the way in establishing Australian standards for AI,” he said. “Standards to ensure AI will work and deliver for people, not the other way around. We can’t ignore AI or prevent it.”

Mr Albanese was among more than 20 signatories of a joint statement, released on Tuesday, Australian time, calling for stronger AI safeguards. His remarks contrasted sharply with US President Donald Trump’s UN speech, which rejected calls to rein in AI; Mr Trump called such fears a “hoax”.

He also pushed Australia’s bid for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat in 2029 and 2030, and raised the 2024 killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in an Israeli strike in Gaza.

Sources

• AAP — “Only do it together: PM’s call to arms to UN leaders”, https://aapnews.aap.com.au/news/only-do-it-together-pm-s-call-to-arms-to-un-leaders
• Politico — “Australian PM warns in UN speech about the ‘furious pace’ of AI after security breach” (headline attribution; no URL supplied)