The Trusted Autonomous Systems submission to the Australian AI Action Plan

Trusted Autonomous Systems Directors of Autonomy Accreditation, (L-R) Mark Brady (Land), Rachel Horne (Maritime) and Tom Putland (Air) 

 

The Australian Government recognises that artificial intelligence (AI) will have enormous social and economic benefits for all Australians. The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) is consulting on the development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan to help maximise the benefits of AI for all Australians and manage the potential challenges. To that end DISER has developed a discussion paper and invited submissions to the AI Action Plan.

AI is the key underpinning of autonomous systems. The Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence CRC (TAS-DCRC) is uniquely placed to provide a submission, noting our depth of experience and leadership in this field, and our multi-disciplinary team including scientists, engineers, ethicists and philosophers, lawyers, and academics. We have a broad focus on many facets of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and our work covers ethical, assurance, technical, and practical perspectives.

Through our common good activities, specifically Activity 2: Assurance of Autonomy, we are actively working to provide a better understanding for Australians about the assurance and accreditation pathways for autonomous systems, in the maritime, land and air domains, and are working with the regulators and key stakeholders to improve those paths.

Our goal is to improve the innovation pipeline, making it faster to design, build, test, assure and certify autonomous systems, while maintaining warranted trust and safety. This work will unlock the many safety, environmental and efficiency benefits autonomous systems can bring, boost Australian jobs, and cement Queensland’s status as the ‘Smart Drone State’ of Australia.

We aim to attract more international participants to Australia to use our country’s world-class large-scale test ranges, and to generate business for the numerous AI entrepreneurs in Queensland and Australia more broadly.

Download the TAS-DCRC submission to the AI Action Plan here

CEO Jason Scholz awarded 2020 McNeil Prize

Trusted Autonomous Systems CEO, Professor Jason Scholz was awarded the 2020 McNeil Prize today by Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, AO in a virtual ceremony.

In 2016, the Australian Naval Institute (ANI) created an award to honour an individual or individuals from Australian defence industry who have made an outstanding contribution to the capabilities and sustainment of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). This award was named the McNeil Prize in honour of Rear Admiral Percival McNeil CB RAN (1883-1951).

The contributions of Prof. Scholz to RAN capability are articulated in the ANI Media Release and the ceremony underscored the importance of this field of research and contribution to future capability. Read the ANI Media Release here.

Congratulations Jason!