AI

A senior judge has urged lawyers and judges to “be in the vanguard” of adopting generative artificial intelligence or risk becoming irrelevant, saying machine-made judicial decisions are inevitable.

The NSW government has vowed to fast-track data centre applications if developers comply with a new set of guidelines designed to minimise impacts on local communities.

Human experience must remain central to judicial decision-making, a top judge has warned, even as he acknowledged that artificial intelligence was just as capable as civil law judges of fair adjudication.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskus has announced the government will conduct a royal commission into artificial intelligence, just days after signing a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI.

Law firm Sparke Helmore has teamed up with tech services company Adaca to launch an AI firm for government clients, promising a "unique combination of legal and technical assurance".

Macquarie Asset Management is partnering with Anthropic and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC on data centre infrastructure, with the partnership to initially focus on data centres in the US.

The government is mulling stronger privacy laws to deal with emerging technologies like smart glasses, with the OAIC saying it was giving "serious consideration" to the privacy issues raised by the glasses, most of which are made by Meta.

Firmus has secured $2.8 billion in equity commitments to speed the rollout of its data centres across Australia, as the AI data centre start-up preps for a debut on the ASX later this year.

Any judge who uses artificial intelligence to issue rulings acts contrary to their oath, a seasoned judge has said, noting the importance of judicial decisions being "entirely those" of the person on the bench.

Energy minister Chris Bowen has warned the federal government will legislate if necessary to prevent states from competing for data centres, after announcing plans last month to roll out a national AI framework to govern the booming area.