Albanese visits Apple HQ, warns Australia can't sit on sidelines of AI race

Anthony Albanese has left the door open to changing copyright laws in a bid to attract AI investment in Australia.

Mr Albanese made the remarks during a visit to Apple headquarters, where he was shown new parental controls that were partly inspired by Australian reforms.

Mr Albanese will be speaking with other leaders at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly about global rules to regulate the development of AI.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not ruled out changing copyright laws to attract AI investment from tech giants, warning Australia needs to be "forward leaning" if it is to help shape the development of the increasingly powerful technology.

Paying a visit to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California on his way to New York, Mr Albanese also made the case for global rules to regulate the development of AI and said he would be speaking to like-minded leaders at next week's United Nations General Assembly.

Sitting on the sidelines was not an option, he said, describing AI as a "global phenomenon".

"I certainly accept that there are risks and that's why we need to mitigate them," Mr Albanese told reporters.

"There is a need for a discussion about what the global framework is for the rollout of AI, because it is moving very quickly, and we need to make sure that humans remain in control."

Debate over the pace of AI development is reaching an inflection point, with Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Space X's Elon Musk, calling for a coordinated slowdown.

But US President Donald Trump has pushed back, arguing any deceleration would give America's biggest competitor, China, the upper hand.

Ahead of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House this week, Mr Trump doubled down, declaring he would establish a new "AI Force" to protect against the "decimation or destruction" of AI.

"AI is the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, but will be even larger and more impactful," the president wrote.

"We are leading China, and the rest of the World, and I intend to keep it that way!"

Australia is developing national standards for AI and data centres, setting out safety, environmental and industrial rules, which the prime minister said he hoped to legislate early next year.