Essay by Eric Worrall

h/t JoNova / David – “… we must seize the opportunity …”

Australia has what it takes to lead in AI

05 June 2025

This opinion article by Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black was published on Capital Brief on 3 June 2025.

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One narrative that dominates many conversations around AI in Australia is that we are most likely to be a passive recipient of global technology. An “AI taker” rather than “maker”, as UK policymakers have termed the distinction.

But this pessimistic assumption fundamentally discounts some of our greatest national advantages when it comes to the application of new technology.

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We are also ideally placed to become a regional hub for AI infrastructure. Australia can host world-class data centres powered by renewable energy, helping global and local organisations train models securely and sustainably.

With investment, these facilities can also serve as the backbone for sovereign AI capabilities, supporting industries from mining and agriculture to healthcare and advanced manufacturing.

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Read more: https://www.bca.com.au/australia_has_what_it_takes_to_lead_in_ai

This claim AI can be powered by renewables flies in the face of evidence that green tech giants are rushing to dump green energy commitments, in their desperation to stay relevant and competitive in the AI gold rush.

Microsoft went straight for nuclear power for their AI

Facebook is building a gas powered generator;

Google was recently accused of greenwashing, they appear to be quietly purchasing fossil fuel capacity to power their AIs;

Why did these former big tech green champions ditch renewables and go straight for serious energy solutions? The reason is AI is a cloud based service, where operational costs are dominated by the cost of energy. Anyone selling AI capacity has to at least match the price of comparable AI services offered by China and Asia. Energy prices in China and Asia are really low – especially I suspect for businesses which are considered by China to be a strategic national priority.

No serious player believes AI can be powered by anything other than the most concentrated, reliable energy sources available. A few of them are making noises about exploring the options, but actions speak louder than words.

There will be some Aussie based AI, in sensitive applications such as the Australian military, where security matters more than cost. But so long as Australia embraces green delusions over reality, we Aussies will be stuck in the slow lane. There will be Aussie breakthroughs, we Aussies are pretty good at high tech. But the bulk of those Aussie AI innovations will end up running on other people’s computers, for lack of the affordable energy required to create a genuine Aussie AI presence.

On our current delusional green trajectory, Australia, for all our world class energy and mineral resource abundance, seems doomed to miss the AI boat. Australia’s irrational green energy policies more than justify that boardroom pessimism the BCA acknowledged in their article.