Debates about artificial intelligence miss a crucial point: the real issue is not whether AI is powerful, but whether we use it to replace human judgment or strengthen it.

Current debates about artificial intelligence lack a clear historical context. We often fail to appreciate how societies have successfully integrated transformative technologies, or where they have failed to do so. The conversation has become frustratingly predictable. We are presented with breathless predictions of human obsolescence on one side, and promises of unlimited, effortless productivity on the other.

Both narratives overlook the fundamental distinction between AI that replaces human capabilities and AI that amplifies them. This choice between automation and augmentation is not merely technical; it shapes how we design economic systems and structure our societies.

For Australia, this distinction determines whether we build an economy that thrives on human creativity or one that systematically erodes it.

When viewed through the lens of augmentation, AI tells a familiar story. Historically, transformative technologies have served as intellectual amplifiers rather than replacements. The printing press did not eliminate scholars; it democratised knowledge and enabled new modes of thinking. While critics argue that AI represents a fundamental break from the past, a closer examination reveals significant continuity.

AI processes information at unprecedented speeds, yet the printing press offered a similar leap over hand-copying. AI is a general-purpose technology, but so were steam power and electricity. While AI can learn and improve, industrial and administrative processes have always involved learning curves. The primary difference today lies in the speed and scope of deployment rather than the fundamental character of the change.

Augmented intelligence enables forms of economic and social value creation that were previously impossible. In the physical sciences, this is already evident. Climate scientists combine observational........

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