The peak body representing some of Australia’s biggest artists has backed Anthony Albanese’s Office of Artificial Intelligence, hailing it as a “clear message to AI companies”.The Prime Minister on Wednesday used a speech in Sydney to tout the new office, nestled within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, as a world-leading approach to AI.“Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals and a streamlined process for verifying compliance,” Mr Albanese said.“It also imposes an important discipline on government.“AI touches on the work of every minister and department, so it is only natural that, up until now, our response has been issue by issue, sector by sector.”The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) chief executive Annabelle Herd welcomed the federal government’s move.“The Prime Minister could not have been clearer: Australian writers and musicians keep ownership and control of their work,” she said.“Artists control what that work is worth, not the government and not a technology company.“Control of price, value and terms of use are what underpin a commercial licensing market. The artist decides what their work is worth and who may use it.“That is how licensing works everywhere else in the world and it is how it should work here. In the Prime Minister’s words: anything less is theft.”It comes just two weeks after some of Australia’s biggest creatives pleaded with Labor to stand firm on pledges not to tweak copyright laws.The group, which included singer-songwriter Jack River, called on AI companies to enter into licensing agreements.“This is a clear message to AI companies: now is the time to get on with licensing,” Ms Herd said.“Right now deals are being signed across music, journalism and publishing around the world.“Australia’s creative industries are ready to do business.”Banks, business, and big tech back in planRejected by the Greens and environmental activist group Greenpeace over provision for data centres, the Prime Minister’s proposal did receive broad support by the business community. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the speech set out an ambitious vision for AI.“There is a genuine opportunity for Australia to position itself as a leading destination for AI investment and data centre development in our region, and the Prime Minister has recognised this,” Mr McKellar said.“However, there are still many significant details that need to be developed, which we will watch closely.“Businesses will be particularly interested in how the proposed AI standards and governance arrangements are designed, and how the requirements of data centres will work in practice. This detail isn’t yet clear, but we look forward to consulting with government on this.”Australian Institute of Architects, the peak body for architects, also welcomed the deal. As did the Commonwealth Bank and Australia AI company SCX.ai.Microsoft, whose Copilot AI is one of the most used and which has made significant investments in Australia’s digital infrastructure, also welcomed the “sharpened focus” on all parties with a responsibility for Australia’s “AI transformation”.In a statement, Microsoft Australia president Jane Livesey said Mr Albanese had set out “a confident direction for how we must calibrate national policy to ensure the benefits of this transformational technology are shared widely and equitably – an ambition Microsoft strongly supports”.Ms Livesy said she shared the “government’s belief that workers should be at the centre of Australia’s AI transformation”.“We recognise the significant contributions of Australian journalists and creatives – and the protections they are due – as core to a healthy AI ecosystem,” she said. “We also believe there is scope for innovative approaches to ensure these technologies benefit everyone.”OpenAI and Anthropic – operators of ChatGPT and Claude, respectively – said they would work with the government in separate media statements. Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus told the ABC she was “happy” the government was seeking a coordinated approach to AI.“At the moment with AI, we’re at the beginning of seeing what it may or may not do,” she said.“We’ve got people saying it’s the robots are going to take over and be more intelligent than us and destroy jobs. We’ve got others saying it’s going to do great things.“Unions want to make sure that we are ready as a country to protect people if we need to. It’s on employers and it’s on tech companies, actually, to demonstrate the benefits of AI at the moment.“Because, I tell you what, Australians are pretty ... not just cynical, I think that we are withholding our trust in this (AI).”Broad political supportCrossbench and opposition MPs also applauded the move, but said it should have happened sooner.“Frankly, I wish they had done this earlier,” Community Strong Australia MP Allegra Spender told Nine’s Today.“We don’t want to just be takers of technology from overseas, but there’s also a lot of concern out there, whether it be on data centres, whether it be on privacy, whether it be on protecting our kids and things like deepfakes.“So I think it is appropriate that the government takes this on more actively.”Opposition digital economy spokesman Aaron Violi struck a similar, albeit more critical tone, saying it was “too late”.“This office should have been put in three years ago,” he told Sky News.“The reality is, the Prime Minister has failed to lead.”Mr Violi went on to accuse the government of swinging between heavy handed over-regulation and “a light touch approach” that had caused “complete chaos”.“We’ve now got the PM saying: ‘Look, I’m going to step in and show leadership’,” he said.“He should have shown leadership three years ago because it has impacted Australians for the last three-to-four years.”Speaking later, Mr Violi said the Coalition was “not going to write a black cheque” to the Prime Minister when asked on the ABC if they would back the government’s efforts.On data centres, he said “we need to understand what are the government proposing at a federal level, where they want federal intervention”.The new AI office will work closely with Industry Minister Tim Ayres and Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton, who will co-design new Australian standards for AI.However, there will be input from across portfolios, including the Attorney-General’s Department for copyright protections and Defence and Home Affairs for national security.Independent MP Kate Chaney was also critical, saying it was “about time the Prime Minister takes AI seriously and recognises its impact across so much of our economy and society”.Although, she said the new office “should provide national attention to the risks, opportunities and co-ordination challenges of AI”.“This office will have its work cut out for it, juggling competing priorities while maintaining a broad scope,” Ms Chaney said.Read related topics:Anthony Albanese