Egalitarianism faces a new threat, and it may be too late to stop it

July 19, 2026 — 5:00am

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The timing was exquisite.

The very same week that 200 anxious economists and artificial intelligence gurus (including 15 Nobel laureates) released a statement called “We Must Act Now”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acted.

Well, he gave a speech. On Wednesday, at his alma mater, Sydney University, the prime minister reassured the Australian public (and the Labor Party’s union base) that his government is alive to the challenge AI poses.

On the risks of AI, not to mention the existential threat that many say it presents, the PM had little to say. The speech was all upside.

The “Act Now” message of the 200 economists and tech specialists was very simple – the statement comprised only three dot points.

They say that AI may become “radically more powerful” over the next decade, which could drive an unprecedented transformation of the economy, akin to the Industrial Revolution but unfolding over a much shorter time span.

“It could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards,” the statement reads.

It calls on policy-makers to take immediate action to build the “incentives, guardrails and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society”.

The subject of artificial intelligence – its uses and misuses – has been gnawing at the edges of the Australian psyche for a few years now.

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AI bots can help with everything from home maintenance advice and recipe planning to devising a weightlifting program. Some use their bot as a therapist, and many millions more must use it as a DIY doctor.

Like a thoughtful friend, it remembers details of........

© The Sydney Morning Herald