An Australian Public Service’s trial of Microsoft’s GPT4-based Copilot generative artificial intelligence platform heavily pumped by prime minister Anthony Albanese a week ago at the APEC Summit in San Francisco still does not yet have any nameable official participants, with the affair becoming an invitation-only event.
As sectoral fury grows over the conspicuous sidelining of domestic AI solutions providers over yet another free pass to so-called big tech, the Digital Transformation Agency was left to mop up the mess after the PM’s announcement short-circuited an industry briefing a week ago on the potential use of AI in government.
“The Digital Transformation Agency has invited APS agencies to be involved in the Copilot trial. The trial is set to commence at the beginning of 2024, with a final list of participating agencies to be confirmed in the coming weeks,” Lisa Jansen, acting general manager, digital strategy, architecture and discovery division at the DTA told The Mandarin in response to questions about agencies.
“The DTA, in partnership with the AI in Government Taskforce, will establish whole-of-government guardrails and security requirements, monitor the trial, and evaluate its implementation.”
Jansen said that “participating agencies will be responsible for implementing Copilot, including undertaking their own security risk assessment based on their particular circumstances and requirements to ensure safe and responsible use of generative AI capability.”
That last line doesn’t exactly gel with the one above it: whole of government guard rails vs individual agency self-assessments. Think ASD’s Essential Eight as opposed to a self-regulatory check. She’ll be right, mate. Until the auditor comes.
The Mandarin was contacted by a number of government suppliers generally expressing a WTF? sentiment over the APS Microsoft Copilot trial. Not that it had happened, but the timing and communication.
The common thread is that the government wants local industry to come up with a whole bunch of potential-use cases, improvements and low-hanging fruit via the consultation process and then pipe these into specific approaches to market locals don’t really have a crack at.
Everyone knows who Microsoft is, given its longstanding presence in the market that is only preceded by IBM. Microsoft made its mark in the industry courtesy of the term IBM-compatible.
Microsoft is a key backer of OpenAI, the company that has propelled free-to-use ChatGPT from a promise to a cult in 18 months. OpenAI also makes AI white labels, like GPT4, that other tech vendors use to signal their AI capability.
In the space of the past week, Albanese has revealed an APS trial for Copilot immediately followed by OpenAI sacking its CEO, Sam Altman, and then most of its employees threatening to quit, resulting in the return of Altman at the behest of major investors including Microsoft.
Ain’t nothing like that San Fran town for a bit of radical free thinking.
READ MORE:
Albo green-lights Microsoft AI trials across APS, OpenAI leadership implodes
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