Four AI Adopt Centres will be established in Australia as part of the federal government’s push to provide free expert advice to small and medium-sized businesses.
The centres, partly funded by the AI Adopt Program the government announced in December, aim to inform businesses about how to safely adopt artificial intelligence.
The program will be co-funded by $17 million in government grants over four years, providing up to half of the centres’ eligible costs.
Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, says the centres will help businesses increase their productivity and “develop new products, safely and responsibly”.
“As the pandemic experience showed, technology can help small and medium enterprises to not only keep operating in tough conditions but find ways to do things into the long term smarter and more efficiently,” he says.
“That’s what I want these AI Adopt Centres to do.”
Among the four AI Adopt Centres is elevenM, which seeks to help businesses with AI solutions mainly in the areas of workflow and governance.
Australian Computer Society, which publishes Information Age, is a partner in elevenM and will share its knowledge for the project while also providing event spaces and infrastructure for key events across the country.
The consortium led by elevenM also includes representatives from the University of Technology Sydney, consulting firms KPMG and TDC Global, and tech giants Atlassian and Microsoft.
The other AI Adopt Centres include Boab, a consortium providing AI courses and mentoring with a focus on renewables, low emissions tech, medical science and agriculture.
Digital Transformation Australia has been tasked with helping businesses understand how AI and robotics could benefit them, and has received the largest grant of $5 million.
Redgrid Internet of Energy Enterprises will focus on regional businesses working in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries.
Aside from helping businesses adopt AI efficiently and safely, the AI Adopt Centres will also provide free specialist training to help staff develop AI management skills, the government says.
The four organisations were chosen by the government following a grants process and applications from across the country.
When it was first announced, the government said the AI Adopt Program would fund up to five AI Adopt Centres.
Husic says the centres will also complement the National Artificial Intelligence Centre, launched by the former Coalition government in 2021.
AI Adopt Centre projects will run until 31 March 2027, before an evaluation period of one year is expected to begin.
The announcement comes after tech industry associations were disappointed by a “negligible” investment in AI in May’s federal budget, with an average of just $8 million provided over five years.
The government’s AI Expert Group, appointed in February, is expected to report to the government in June, but its future remains unclear.
