South Korea plans to give every citizen free access to domestically powered AI, backed by a national AI budget of around A$10 billion. Australia is pursuing a different path. What explains the difference, and what can Korea’s approach teach us about productivity, sovereign capability and putting technology at the centre of national economic strategy?
AI can increasingly perform the tasks we have traditionally educated people to do. But if we remove the struggle involved in learning those tasks, do we also risk removing the experiences through which judgement and expertise develop? The challenge for education is not simply what we teach in the age of AI, but how we preserve the necessary discomfort of learning.
Recently, I had the privilege of joining an Engineers Australia delegation to visit Snowy 2.0, one of Australia’s largest and most technically complex infrastructure projects.
Some of the most interesting engineering conversations happen in places you least expect.
Human spaceflight captures our imagination, but its greatest value lies beyond the mission itself. Australia’s long-term success will depend not simply on reaching space, but on the engineering capability, workforce and sovereign agency we build along the way. The mission may be the milestone, but the capability it creates is the enduring legacy.
I recently had the opportunity to tour Edith Cowan University’s remarkable new City Campus with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Paulo de Souza, together with the Engineers Australia team.
Engineering has always been an international profession.
Psychosocial safety is about preventing psychological harm, not eliminating challenge. The strongest organisations foster respectful debate, honest feedback and accountability while ensuring people feel supported. The question for leaders is whether they are building people’s capacity to handle challenge, or simply reducing the amount of challenge they experience.
Australia produces world-class research, but translating it into economic impact requires more than better commercialisation. It demands a research, development and innovation system that is targeted, connected and capable of helping Australian ideas grow into globally competitive industries.
Technology is no longer simply an operational function. Artificial intelligence, cyber security and digital infrastructure now influence strategy, risk and long-term value creation. As organisations become increasingly digital, boards will need the capability and confidence to govern technology as effectively as they govern finance and risk.
