Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has said he finds reassurance in a recent essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who called for a slowdown in the pace of artificial intelligence development. Appearing on the ABC’s 7.30 program on Tuesday, Marles addressed Amodei’s urging that governments press pause on the AI revolution.
Marles clarified that the goal is not to halt progress entirely, but to ensure that regulatory safeguards are established before technological capabilities outstrip them. Emphasizing Australia’s perspective, he stated that the focus is on ensuring AI serves the public good rather than posing risks. “The technology is being developed very quickly… our focus is making sure that… we do have in place AI safeguards in Australia which make sure that this is a technology which is benefitting Australians and not the other way around,” he said.
The comments came amid heightened political tension surrounding One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Senator Barnaby Joyce criticized Hanson’s approach, accusing her of exploiting anger to direct blame toward vulnerable groups. “One Nation whips up the anger and they tell people who to blame. That’s the populist trick… It’s a trick Australia, and we’ve got to wake up to it,” Joyce said, pointing to the track records of figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as evidence that populist leadership rarely improves the lives of working people.
Joyce also sharply rebuked Hanson over her stance on military involvement, asking if she would re-embed Australian soldiers in what he termed an “American forever war.” He labeled her both “dangerous” and “delusional,” while suggesting that Hanson, along with Nigel Farage and Donald Trump, is primarily enriching themselves. He urged Australians to reject the “ugly politics of populism,” arguing that the nation should strive for better standards based on respect and solution-oriented dialogue rather than fear.
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