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New York: Anthony Albanese has used a dramatic warning about the risks of artificial intelligence to argue that the international system is under unprecedented strain, declaring that middle powers such as Australia must help ensure the world is governed by rules rather than “power and force alone”.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the prime minister pointed to the recent infiltration of a government website by an AI agent as evidence of the speed at which emerging technology is creating new international challenges.
Sandwiched between the Greek prime minister and the Irish taoiseach, Albanese’s warning was aimed at a world increasingly shaped by rivalry between the United States and China – the two powers on which Australia’s security and economic prosperity are deeply dependent.
Australia’s latest cyber scare, which involved an OpenAI agent gaining unauthorised access to the public-facing Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal, has bolstered the prime minister’s argument of the risks that he says governments must confront as artificial intelligence rapidly develops.
“This is unacceptable,” Albanese said in a 19-minute address on Thursday evening (US time). “We can’t ignore AI or prevent it. And it’s why we joined with other nations this week to call for action to shape AI development rather than be passively shaped by it.”
His appearance – at 7.30pm, New York time – came a few hours after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in the White House and Benjamin Netanyahu faced perhaps the most hostile political climate an Israeli prime minister has faced in New York since the country became a member of the United Nations in 1949.
Outside, thousands of protesters filled a public square in T-shirts emblazoned with “fund people not bombs” and chanted slogans such as “let Gaza live” and “the whole world is watching”. More than 100 people were arrested, including Thelma & Louise movie star Susan Sarandon.
Of the conflict in the Middle East, Albanese said the only viable path to peace and security was through a two-state solution.
“We will continue to speak out against actions that damage that prospect of peace, including illegal settlements in the West Bank,” he said. “Just as we continue to oppose any role for the terrorists of Hamas in Palestine’s future.”
Australia, the prime minister said, would continue to work closely with its principal ally, the United States, while maintaining its relationship with China, its major trading partner – seeking room for middle powers to exercise their own sovereign choices.
“Australia stands for a safer world where no country dominates, and no country is dominated,” he said to a half-filled assembly with delegations from across the world.
The speech placed AI within a much broader challenge to the international order.
Albanese argued that while AI could improve lives, drive productivity and produce breakthroughs in areas including healthcare, leaders of AI companies had themselves raised concerns about the technology developing too quickly without safeguards.
He said that climate change, emerging technology and the “breakdown of international rules” were creating challenges that demanded countries work together, and warned that the multilateral system was under “immense strain”.
His address was also a pitch to counterparts for Australia’s campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2029-30, seeking to position the country as a voice for smaller and middle-sized nations caught between the competing interests of major powers.
“We understand the UN mission cannot be entrusted solely to the great powers, or the biggest countries, or even the loudest voices alone. Nor can it be subcontracted to the world’s richest companies or dictated by the pace of technology,” he said.
Australia would, if elected, “amplify the voices of small states and middle powers”, Albanese said, while working to prevent crises, resolve conflicts and protect civilians through diplomacy and practical action.
Albanese repeated his warning that the rules-based order built after the Second World War was facing a profound test, with the institutions designed to prevent conflict struggling to keep pace with a radically changed world.
“The multilateral system we have all known and benefited from is under immense strain,” he said.
He pointed to the breakdown of trust and social cohesion as forces driving conflict both within and between countries. For Australia, he argued, the response was to use its position as a middle power to give smaller nations a greater voice while continuing to work with the major powers that shape the global order.
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Rob Harris is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email.From our partners
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