AI is gonna change everything. Hey gov, what are you doing to prepare?

The state government of South Australia is establishing a commission to explore how the state can maximise the benefits of the AI boom whilst minimising unwanted impacts (paraphrased, see full announcement here). In local parlance, this type of formal investigation is called a Royal Commission.

Although Royal Commissions have a tendency to be backward-looking, that is not always the case. And not here. To quote:

"...it is intended that the commission seeks to propose policy solutions, rather than look retrospectively into issues from a judicial or legal perspective."

In fact, as noted in the announcement, this style of Royal Commission has precedent—and we believe South Australia should be rewarded for the degree of forethought; the next generation will be born into a world that will bear only accidental or nostalgic resemblance to today's. Too few are giving it due attention and/or are relying relying on technology vendors to self-regulate and dictate policy.

This time, those who remember the past may be condemned to a future where they become irrelevant - Subverting George Santayana

For the most part, AI has only impacted developers, researchers and knowledge workers...so far. Stay tuned for an upcoming synthesis of academic research into how the risk of displacement will impact wages and employment volumes (hint: the risk is uneven but almost universally detrimental to wages and/or employment volumes; the flow-on is that the displaced rush to lower risk opportunities). Before 2040, "AI" will have fundamentally changed key facets of society as we know them today ranging from education to employment, from defence to scientific research and—ideally—how we close the gap to the technologically disenfranchised (including the elderly and the disabled). And that's just a sliver of what's coming. It's essential that society begins to meticulously examine both the benefits and the risks. The best of us will take this path, in the process becoming "apocaloptimists". Everyone else will be left behind.

Bravo South Australia for endeavouring to find the questions that we will all need to ask.