Monash Expert: Sovereign AI To Secure Australia’s Economic Future

20 August 2025

Ahead of today’s Economic Reform Roundtable session, Monash University AI expert and Australian Laureate Fellow Professor Geoff Webb is available to discuss the urgent need for Australia to upskill its workforce and develop sovereign AI technical expertise to lift productivity and secure the nation’s economic future.

The following can be attributed to Professor Webb:

“Australia’s economic prosperity is at a crossroads as artificial intelligence, often heralded as the answer to the nation’s stagnant productivity, begins to reshape the workforce. While AI promises greater efficiency, it simultaneously poses the risk of replacing Australian workers with automated systems. The movement of wages and salaries away from households and toward tech corporation service fees, particularly those owned overseas, threatens to drain vital income from the Australian economy.

“Without a robust domestic AI sector, Australia stands to lose significant revenue as fees for AI-powered services flow offshore. Unless Australia is able to generate its own income from providing AI solutions or enables Australians to leverage AI for substantial value creation, the nation risks falling behind in the global digital economy.

“The solution is clear: Australia must urgently invest in building sovereign AI capability. It is essential that local businesses cultivate expertise to not only reduce operational costs through AI but also to enhance the quality and competitiveness of their products and services. For Australia to develop AI solutions that can compete internationally, a highly skilled domestic workforce is required.

“Australia currently offers a range of excellent Master of AI programs, designed to provide this upskilling. However, the overwhelming majority of students in these courses, sometimes more than 95 per cent, are international. While the rest of the world recognises the importance of AI skills, there is a concerning lack of Australian participation in these programs.

“To secure the nation’s future, Australians from key industries such as mining, agriculture, finance, and construction should be encouraged to pursue AI expertise, positioning themselves as leaders in their respective fields during this period of transformation. If Australians do not lead these changes, others will, and the Australian economy will be theirs to plunder.”

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