Doom or Boom: Australia ‘Dangerously Unprepared’ for AI Risks, Warns Leading Expert
Leading AI expert Professor Toby Walsh warns the National Press Club that Australia is "dangerously unprepared" for AI threats. Walsh demands urgent regulation and investment, citing corporate negligence and tragic safety failures.
Harry Taruva 
Canberra - University of New South Wales (UNSW) Scientia Professor, Toby Walsh, has warned that Australia is facing a dual crisis of government inaction and corporate negligence regarding artificial intelligence (AI), Kwedu News can reveal.
In an urgent warning delivered to the National Press Club, titled AI: doom or boom?, Walsh, one of the world's foremost AI researchers, cautioned that the nation is dangerously unprepared for both the extraordinary opportunities and the serious threats posed by the technology.
He called for immediate regulation to ensure AI development remains safe, ethical and aligned with the national interest.
Prof. Walsh directed significant criticism toward major technology companies, specifically citing Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
He highlighted internal documents suggesting that 10% of Meta’s 2024 revenue, exceeding $16 billion, was derived from scam advertisements and banned goods.
"Imagine that 10% of the goods on the shelves at the Good Guys were counterfeit or illegal," Prof. Walsh stated, "you'd demand that Fair Trading shut them down by the weekend. So, I don't understand how we continue to let Meta trade in Australia."
He highlighted significant disparity between Australia’s AI investment and that of its peer nations.
Despite previous commitments, the Australian government has opted not to proceed with a permanent independent AI expert group.
He said Canada has invested six times more than Australia in AI over the last five years while Singapore, despite having less than a quarter of Australia’s population, the city-state has invested fifteen times more.
"What makes Australia so special that we'll see the benefits of AI without making the sort of investments other nations are?" Prof. Walsh asked.
The most harrowing segment of the address focused on the lack of safety guard-rails and its impact on young people.
Prof. Walsh cited the April 2025 suicide of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who engaged in escalating conversations with ChatGPT regarding self-harm.
The chatbot reportedly offered to help the teenager write a suicide note and discouraged him from speaking with his family.
Walsh further cited OpenAI data indicating significant mental health risks among its 800 million weekly users with about 1.2 million users indicating plans to harm themselves.
He also said 560,000 users show signs of psychosis or mania and 1.2 million are developing potentially unhealthy bonds with the AI.
"What I fear most is that I'll be back here in 3 or 4 years time saying: 'We tried to warn you. But another generation of young Australians has now been sacrificed for the profits of big tech,'" Prof. Walsh warned.
