Squiz Series: AI agents and the law
6/10/202617 min
Artificial intelligence is the topic of a lot of conversations at the moment - and recent research commissioned by Minderoo Foundation shows that us Aussies have a bunch of concerns. So thanks to Minderoo, we’ve been able to talk to some of those experts in a special Squiz Series of podcasts on AI. For part two, we’ve spoken to Peter Lee, who has been working at the centre of AI and the law for longer than most of us have probably known what it is. He’s a partner at the international law firm Simmons and Simmons, and he talks about how we can stay resilient in Australia when it comes to data, how we as workers can try and thrive in the age of AI rather than get left behind - and the ways in which AI can and can’t organise your haircut appointment. Resources: The SafeAI report, commissioned by Minderoo Foundation How AI Impacts Skill Formation, paper written with Anthropic
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First 90 secondsPeter Lee· Guest0:00
[gentle music] Agents have got a level of autonomy that we haven't seen before from technology.
Andrew Williams· Host0:05
How are companies, organizations of any stripe sort of responsible for what an AI might do?
Peter Lee· Guest0:10
Yeah, this is a very complicated, complex question, and I think the law in most, in all countries, I don't think is settled on this. I think there's a, a much more profound threat to all professionals, in fact, all society, which is the impact of this technology on our critical thinking skills. Three years ago or two years ago, top of our recruiting list were computer scientists, data scientists. Now I'm looking to hire philosophers.
Andrew Williams· Host0:35
[gentle music] G'day, I'm Andrew Williams, and this is part two of our Squiz Special Series on artificial intelligence. Minderoo Foundation is an Australian philanthropy driven by a commitment to create a future where people and the environment we depend on can thrive. Now, they have a focus on AI, particularly how we can find the right balance between protecting people and unlocking its benefits. And recent research commissioned by Minderoo found that nearly two-thirds of Australians think the pace of AI development is too fast, and they wanna see the government ensure that we're resilient to the risks of AI, that our laws can keep pace with how fast the tech is developing. So we've spoken to Peter Lee, who has been working at the center of AI and the law for longer than most of us have probably known what AI is. He's a partner at the international law firm Simmons and Simmons, and he talks about how we can stay resilient in Australia when