Artificial intelligence is widely used in Australia, from self-driving trucks in mining to financial compliance management and clinical decision support applications.
After the Australian government pledged considerable money to expand Australia’s AI capabilities in its most recent Budget, the use of AI is expected to rise. This includes the following:
• A new National Artificial Intelligence Centre is piloting business-industry collaborations to develop AI-based solutions for national concerns.
• Grants to create AI solutions in local and regional Australia as part of a program to teach the next generation of AI specialists.
The government’s aim to grow the country’s AI capabilities, anchored by the measures above, will be detailed in an upcoming AI Action Plan.
The government’s Digital Economy Strategy includes artificial intelligence as a crucial pillar, reflecting the growing relevance of AI in Australia. According to a Deloitte survey released in 2019, 79 percent of Australian businesses believe AI will be “extremely” or “critically” crucial to their operations.
As a result, Australia is an excellent location for testing and validating products among early adopter customers. Companies in a variety of industries, from mining to healthcare and financial services, are developing and deploying cutting-edge AI to expand and defend their operations.
In the mining and energy industries, machine learning is being used.
Companies use machines to improve productivity in their mining and power sectors, improve efficiency, and reduce risk. Many have developed their own AI skills.
For instance, Origin Energy developed an optimized production tool based on AI for the first time. The tool uses figures such as pump speed and flow rates to determine which of the 2000+ gas pipes can be switched off and returned at very low risk of failure. This enables the source to decrease working conditions, extend the life of every well and reduce emissions.
BHP opened the first of its ‘digital factories’ in Brisbane in 2020 by companies, for example, using machine learning to increase productivity. The plant will create a common “practice community” between the technical roles instead of having numerous projects delivered from multiple parts of its business. BHP created an algorithm for one of its first projects to provide the company with an optimal environment for a coal plant based on the mixture of coal from the mine.
Companies also work with talent access service providers. Oz Minerals has partnered with Unearthed, the Australian crowd-sourcing provider, to reach thousands of data scientists, machine learners, and innovators worldwide. It has opened up its research data and has offered a $1 million prize pool that attracts innovators to create new machine learning models to help identify new targets for ore depots such as copper and gold.
- Financial sector risk reduction
Australian investment banks are engaged to identify, reduce risks and manage their compliance obligations through AI-driven solutions with RecTech companies. These include money laundering, counter-criminal funding, and your know-how requirements.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ING completed a pilot with Ascent Technologies to facilitate information processing and the implementation of regulations. To understand and convert 1,5 million regulatory paragraphs into morsel-sized and viable bank tasks, the project employed Natural Language and AI.
Banken has employed smart Ascent technology to quickly identify regulatory items that can be reviewed and operated and save hundreds of hours of manual processing. - AI for embryo selection
Institutions are ready to check for Australians with advanced AI solutions. Virtus Health, an Australian provider of assisted reproductive services, is conducting an international study to see if AI can shorten a patient’s pregnancy time.
The study assesses the efficiency of AI in embryo selection. The AI evaluates embryo growth and assigns an Embryo Score. The most important embryo for implantation is selectable and transferable. Virtus partnered on the study with Harrison.ai, an AI company run by a clinician. - AI support from the government
Australian states and territories also encourage the development and adoption of AI capabilities. State initiatives include examples: State initiatives
• Queensland has an AI hub to support the development of AI and global links
• AI Strategy with five main topics was released in New South Wales: Creation of public confidence, digital uplift, data capacity building, procurement, innovation, and cooperation
• Victoria started Boab AI, Australia’s first AI accelerator program
• South Australia has created with the University of Adelaide, Australian Institute of
Machine Learning, the first Australian research institute dedicated to machine learning.
