Exponential development of artificial intelligence (AI) brings with it major challenges for governments and private sector organisations charged with promoting both security and economic dynamism. These challenges provided the focus for a Track 1.5 dialogue convened by the United States Studies Centre (USSC) in May this year.

Among leading international experts brought to Australia for the dialogue and for discussions with senior Australian Government policymakers were Jade Leung as Chief Technology Officer from the UK’s AI Security Institute (now Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s AI Adviser), and Tarun Chhabra, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Technology and National Security at the US National Security Council.

US Senior Economics Adviser Dr John Kunkel and Non-Resident Fellow Tom Barretthave drawn together key themes of the dialogue (held under the Chatham House rules) in Aligning security and economic interests in the age of AI. The report comes at a critical time in the development of Australia’s AI policy regime.

“Countries are approaching the challenges presented by AI from different starting points, but with a number of shared objectives,” Dr Kunkel noted. “This dialogue illuminated the connection points that join everything from geopolitical competition and the quest for AI primacy to domestic demands on education and energy systems.”

“For many countries that are not technological superpowers, the focus is on the ability to apply and diffuse AI in a way that delivers clear benefits to citizens while ensuring their security and privacy are not compromised,” Dr Kunkel said. “Finding the right balance on regulation is top-of-mind for policymakers in Australia and elsewhere.”

Aligning security and economic interests in the age of AI was the first in a series of Economic Security Dialogues to be held in 2025. The report is now available to view or download.

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