NextDC\u2019s stock plummeted by 42 per cent on Wednesday<\/a>, wiping $2.9 billion off its market capitalisation, after it was forced to delay expansion at its M3 data centre in Melbourne\u2019s West Footscray following fierce community backlash.<\/p>\nIt comes less than two weeks after Firmus pulled the plug on its proposed $44 billion IPO, which was set to be the biggest IPO since Telstra, following lacklustre investor demand.<\/p>\n
Dr Denniss argued that the \u201cfear of missing out\u201d (FOMO) is being weaponised across Canberra to shut down legitimate debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my lifetime, I have never heard so much hype about a particular industry, and I\u2019ve never heard FOMO \u2014 the fear of missing out \u2014 being used so aggressively to suggest we can\u2019t talk about things before they happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While he said defence and intelligence agencies have unique operational needs for advanced computing, he rejected the claim that commercial operators should be given a blank cheque to build resource-heavy data centres anywhere they please.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis rush, this sort of generalised assertion that if we don\u2019t say yes to everything now, we will miss out is, I would suggest, unprecedented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we have agency? Of course. Do other countries share our concerns? Of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
A threat to Australian democracy<\/p>\n
Dr Denniss also warned that the unchecked spread of AI poses an existential threat to democratic institutions, pointing to deepfakes targeting elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to have elections where fake depictions of real people pretending to say things they\u2019ve never said before are going to dominate our analysis of what\u2019s happening in an election,\u201d he told the committee. \u201cThat\u2019s a national security risk, I put to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also took a swipe at tech leaders who speculate about catastrophic scenarios while pushing their products on governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the AI industry saying, \u2018Oh, there\u2019s a 10 per cent chance we might end humanity.\u2019 If I came in here and said that, people would suggest I\u2019m being hysterical. I have no idea \u2014 maybe it\u2019s only a 5 per cent chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Denniss urged the committee to stop viewing the technology solely through the lens of tech developers and start protecting the public interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, most of the people talking… are people who are really interested in the tech,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m really interested in the macroeconomic consequences. I\u2019m really interested in the democratic consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to news.com.au, he said the green energy transition faced far more scrutiny than AI.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo for decades we\u2019ve been told we shouldn\u2019t rush in inverted commas to roll out renewable energy because it might cost some jobs in fossil fuels and it might lead to higher electricity prices,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when it comes to AI, we\u2019ve been promised it will lead to large job losses and we\u2019ve been promised it will lead to higher electricity prices and yet the people who told us not to rush into renewables are telling us we have no choice but to rush into AI.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, a lot of people understandably just aren\u2019t buying that.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only don\u2019t they see any benefit, they hear the industry itself admitting to the costs, but they also hear the industry itself talking about risks to humanity itself. So I have no idea if AI has a 10 per cent chance of ruining humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not an expert in AI, but I know that that\u2019s what people in the AI industry are saying. So you can understand why voters would be worried about an industry that will cost jobs, will make electricity dearer and might lead to the end of humanity. It doesn\u2019t seem like a very compelling proposition to normal people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Disappointment\u2019: Kerry O\u2019Brien torches PM<\/p>\n
The stark warning over Canberra\u2019s AI blind spot comes as veteran journalist Kerry O\u2019Brien delivered a scathing appraisal of Anthony Albanese\u2019s leadership, warning the Prime Minister is sleepwalking into the AI crisis.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Fran Kelly on The Radio National Hour, the former 7.30 host did not hold back when asked how history would judge the Albanese prime ministership.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a book of disappointment by a lot of people who voted for him,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he\u2019s still got a little bit of time to turn around where that\u2019s headed, because where it\u2019s headed now, I think, is a book of disappointment by a lot of people who voted for him. That is my sense, my clear sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
While O\u2019Brien acknowledged having \u201csome sympathy\u201d for the government wrestling with the 50-year legacy of \u201cneoliberalism\u201d, he warned that Mr Albanese\u2019s team is completely out of its depth against the looming AI wave.<\/p>\n
He slammed politicians for trying to bluff their way through the rapid ascent of generative AI, describing it as an incoming \u201ctrain or tsunami\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst of it is the politicians, including Anthony Albanese, appearing to me they\u2019re hoping to pretend and get away with… pretend that they\u2019re on top of it, and they are not,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo government is on top of it, even those that have already tried to regulate.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien claimed the Prime Minister\u2019s slow-and-steady approach is leaving Australia utterly unprepared for the fallout, saying a book about the PM\u2019s legacy would be one of \u201cdisappointment\u201d. <\/p>\n
He said the government had a \u201clack of courage, the lack of imagination, the lack of creativity of policy\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A leading Australian economist has delivered a blistering reality check to federal politicians, warning that the global 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