By Oliver Mason and Tom Snow 

As the global race to integrate AI into defence heats up, this year’s federal budget demonstrates how Australia is lagging behind allies and strategic partners.

While defence spending is set to increase by $53 billion over the next decade, rising from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent of GDP by 2033, little of the current allocation goes towards AI and autonomous warfare capabilities.

Despite claims of AI integration into the Australian Defence Force, there was no mention of AI in a military context in Treasurer Jim Chalmer’s national address this evening, which only lingered on defence spending for one line. 

“We’re investing an additional $53 billion over the next decade in our defence force to keep Australians and our region safe,” Chalmers said.

In recent years both the US and UK have invested billions of dollars in AI defence programs.

The Commonwealth is yet to publicly commit to integrating military AI.

But Dr Neil Renic, director of the University of NSW’s Military Ethics Research Lab and Innovation Network, and an adviser on government policy and the use of drones, said Australia was moving in that direction.

“I know there’s a lot of people of consequence in Australia pushing to integrate military AI much more intensely and much more broadly,” said Renic.

“I think in the air and sea domain, Australia definitely has an ambition to integrate autonomous weapons platforms.” 

Australia has commissioned emerging weaponry from American military contracting company Anduril. However, Chalmer’s reticence to commit to any major defence shake-up represents a cautious approach to this evolving technology.

Experts have signalled a boost in spending related to defence and AI, but the government neglected to announce a fully fledged AI defence strategy tonight.

Marian-Andrei Rizoiu, who currently serves as the Director of the Defence Innovation Network, says that AI is already beginning to transform global defence systems. 

“AI is the current game changer, that’s for sure,” Rizoiu said.

Rizoiu remarked that governments are increasingly investing early in AI technologies to avoid falling behind other countries.

“A lot of the governments are taking a cautious approach where they prefer to be investing early rather than being left behind and having to play catch up,” he said.

In April, Defence Minister Richard Marles told the National Press Club about the government’s intention to build an “integrated, focused and more lethal” military.

Despite overall increase in military expenditure, this budget demonstrates that the Australian government remains unwilling to fully integrate AI into defence systems.

Main image of Richard Marles by Department of Foreign Affairs and submarine by BAE Systems.