We’ve entered the era in our AI journey where we’re starting to grapple with some pretty big – and pretty tough – questions. Copyright is one of them.
📻 I’ll be on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio at 9:47am AEST to talk about what this means for creators, tech companies and Australia’s place in the global AI race.
The Federal Government has (for now) ruled out allowing AI companies to freely train on Australian content without permission.
In simple terms: if AI companies want to use Aussie books, songs, films or journalism to train their models, they’ll have to pay for it.
That decision puts Australia at odds with the US and EU, which’ve introduced more flexible “fair use” or data-mining rules.
The tug-of-war
This is where it gets interesting.
🎨 Artists and creators say this is a win for cultural sovereignty — their work has been scraped, copied and used to train AI models without credit or consent. They just want transparency and fair pay.
💻 Tech companies, on the other hand, argue this will put Australia behind the curve and cost us billions in AI investment. But here’s the kicker — the investment is already happening.
Amazon is spending $20 billion on Australian AI infrastructure. OpenAI AI and Microsoft oft are here too. So clearly, copyright isn’t stopping anyone from showing up.
Why it matters
This decision could shape how AI grows in Australia.
It’s not about stopping innovation — it’s about doing it ethically.
We can protect creators and build world-class AI by creating collective licensing systems (like APRA AMCOS uses for music) and demanding transparency about training data.
As I’ll say on air — this isn’t a choice between creators and innovation. It’s a choice between fairness and shortcuts.
If you want an AI speaker who can cut through the hype, tackle the big questions, and show you what’s possible with real, live demos — I’m your gal.
📅 Now taking bookings for 2026 (with only a few dates left in 2025).
