If Australia is home to an AI gold rush, let’s not squander it. Let’s fjord a different path

The CEOs of Microsoft and Anthropic are looking for secure places to train their AI models, due to the high energy and water consumption of these mega-data projects.
Australia has emerged as a potential location for the technology due to its resources, political stability, and renewable energy infrastructure.
The potential success of AI in Australia could lead to a new resource boom similar to Norway’s oil industry, if the financial arrangements for such a new industry are properly designed.
There is a call for a more beneficial financial arrangement for Australia in the AI boom, akin to the way Norway benefited from its oil deposits.
A key condition for operating AI training centres in Australia should be reparations to creators and ongoing licensing of their work, in light of past legal issues with illegal web scraping for AI training.
A potential partnership between Australia and Big Tech could create a new green export industry and control the direction of AI technology, while also ensuring compliance with Australian laws.
Australia’s investment in renewable energy-powered AI infrastructure could position it as a global leader in the AI industry.

If Australia is home to an AI gold rush, let’s not squander it. Let’s fjord a different path | Peter Lewis