International Digital Policy Observatory Launch

In this newsletter we share highlights from the International Digital Policy Observatory launch held at a breakfast event on Wednesday 24 April 2024 hosted by Gilbert + Tobin.

This official launch of the International Digital Policy Observatory (IDPO) offers an exciting milestone in the collection and curation of international policies surrounding misinformation, AI regulation, online content regulation, cybersecurity and digital identity.

The purpose of the IDPO is to provide government and industry policy makers, along with researchers a valuable free resource to investigate the latest policy and governance issues surrounding misinformation on a global scale.

With increased publication of deep fake news and misinformation, the IDPO is an independent resource designed to keep technology honest.

The IDPO is a project developed by University of Sydney, UNSW, UTS, alongside key project partner, the Australian Information Industry Association.

SEARCH THE IDPO REGISTER

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

The Honourable Justice Melissa Perry delivered the keynote address and stated:

The Observatory promises to be an invaluable research and policy tool at a time where the pace and scale of technological development has never been greater; nor the ethical, legal, and policy challenges in regulating the development, release and operation of new technologies. It is no overstatement to say that we are at a pivotal point in human history, confronted with the reality of machines of exceptional power which are capable of being harnessed for the betterment of humankind but also capable of great harm.

In a year where 4.2 billion citizens will vote in elections in approximately 65 nations, including India (where the six week process of voting has begun), the United States and Mexico, the choice of misinformation as the first topic to be released on the Observatory could not be more relevant.

This is an image of Professor Terry Flew — ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Terry Flew, Professor of Digital Communications and Culture, The University of Sydney

Project Leader ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Terry Flew advised:

With the internet increasingly dominated by a small number of tech giants, governments and community organisations need information resources that provide some form of countervailing power. The IDPO is enabling infrastructure that policy makers and regulators can use to be aware of what is happening globally around key issues in the digital economy.

KEY MESSAGES OF SUPPORT

Professor Emma Johnston, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), The University of Sydney

Professor Emma Johnston Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) from The University of Sydney and Michelle Rowland MP Minister for Communications shared pre-recorded messages.

Professor Johnston stated that:

The IDPO demonstrates the ways in which research strengths of academic institutions can combine and create a resource which is useful beyond the university...[It] addresses the key challenges of our time such as how to deal with misinformation, or how to best regulate AI...In my work at University of Sydney I understand the importance of transdisciplinary research as well as the challenges of doing it well. In my view the IDPO represents a great example of rising to those challenges.

Michelle Rowland MP shared how the IDPO is:

An exciting development for researchers, industry, and policymakers alike...It offers a window into the effectiveness of different regulatory approaches in this fast moving environment...Good policymaking is after all collaborative and evidence-based.

IDPO PANEL

Panel members from IDPO Launch in Sydney — Panel Members

IDPO team members Dr Joanne Gray (The University of Sydney), Professor Lyria Bennett Moses (University of New South Wales) and Associate Professor Heather Ford (University of Technology Sydney) participated in a Q&A panel session. During this session they responded to the following questions:

How adequate are existing legal and regulatory frameworks for addressing current problems associated with misinformation?
Does Australia need AI-specific legislation of the sort recently passed in the EU with the AI Act and in Canada with the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act? Or will repurposing current arrangements be sufficient?
In an era of global tech giants, what is required to enhance international collaboration and cooperation between nationally-based regulatory agencies?

KEY IDPO RESEARCHERS

IDPO Researcher Rob Nicholls & Data Scientist Justin Miller

CLOSING REMARKS

Professor Catharine Lumby provided closing remarks...

We'd like thank the whole IDPO team, Gilbert + Tobin for hosting this event, photographer Bill Green, and everyone who participated in this launch event.

Please email idpo.sydney.edu.au to request a copy of the event recording.

NEXT ISSUE

New Podcast coming soon... Professor Terry Flew speaks with Associate Professor Heather Ford from UTS.