Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said Microsoft Copilot advised him to respond “congratulations!” after a terminally ill constituent said he intended to use voluntary assisted dying. He cited the incident as evidence of AI’s shortcomings and argued Australia should develop and control its own AI systems. The hearing also highlighted the government’s view that access to advanced AI is essential for national security and cyber defence.

Australia’s signals director general, Abigail Bradshaw, warned that hostile actors could exploit vulnerabilities before Australian agencies detect them if they have more capable AI. Defence officials said Australia is dependent on US-based processing and could lose significant capability during a conflict, while plans are under way for locally controlled datacentres and stricter conditions on AI companies operating in Australia. Proposed standards include reporting breaches, reserving computing capacity for research and supporting renewable energy, but copyright rules remain unresolved amid opposition from creatives and demands for licensing payments.