Australia says tougher laws needed on artificial intelligence

Australia said on Thursday it planned to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) including a potential ban on deep fakes and realistic-looking but false content, amid concerns the technology could be misused.

The move comes on the heels of a meeting of top AI executives earlier this week when they raised the “risk of extinction from AI” and urged policymakers to equate it to risks posed by pandemics and nuclear war.

“There is clearly, in the community, a concern about whether or not the technology is getting ahead of itself,” Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic told ABC television.