2024 US Delegation

In October 2024, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) organized a significant delegation to Washington D.C., comprising 52 representatives from Australia. This group included 14 federal government technology leaders and 38 industry representatives from both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and multinational corporations (MNCs). The purpose of the visit was to engage with key tech companies and U.S. government agencies to gain insights into emerging technologies and strategies that could benefit Australia.

During the week, the delegation had the opportunity to hear from leading AIIA member companies, including major players such as SAP, IBM, Palo Alto, ServiceNow, Dell Technologies, Accenture, Info-Tech, Workday, AWS, Elastic, Appian, and Infosys. These discussions provided valuable perspectives on the evolution of digital technologies and their transformative impact on enterprises, economies, and citizens.

The delegation was also privileged to receive briefings from several U.S. government agencies at the Australian Embassy. This included insights from the Office of the White House, the General Services Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security, and the U.S. State Department. These interactions highlighted the collaborative nature of technology development and implementation across governmental and private sectors.

A significant theme during the visit was the progress and early implementations of generative AI (gen-AI) in the public sector. Last year, following the launch of ChatGPT, many tech companies were focused on building their own gen-AI capabilities.

At that time, the conversation was dominated by the hype surrounding AI technology. However, twelve months later, the delegation noted a shift towards practical applications of gen-AI, particularly within internal administrative functions of government agencies. These early use cases are aimed at learning, upskilling, and understanding the benefits of gen-AI before developing citizen facing applications.

The discussions revealed that while there are substantial productivity gains to be realized from gen-AI, public agencies are taking a cautious approach to its expansion. This measured strategy is essential until personnel, systems, and processes are adequately prepared for broader implementation.

The U.S. government is in the nascent stages of developing a national AI research capability designed to provide SMEs and research institutions with access to GPUs for generative AI projects. With an allocation of $2.5 billion over six years, this initiative aims to enhance the diversity of AI voices, ensuring that the U.S. economy is not overly reliant on a small pool of large language models. Other nations are following suit, establishing government AI Centers of Excellence to evaluate and support gen-AI use cases. By the end of 2023, the U.S. government had identified over 700 AI use cases, although the majority did not involve gen-AI. A new government mandate will make this information publicly accessible by the end of the year.

There is anticipation that the Australian government will eventually invest in developing local AI infrastructure. However, it is crucial that this investment is strategic and aligns with Australia’s unique requirements.

A key difference between the U.S. and Australia is the ability of the U.S. President to issue Executive Orders (EOs), facilitating rapid government-wide technology transformations. The requirement for U.S. agencies to transition to the cloud was notably impactful, especially in light of past cyber breaches that occurred within on-premises infrastructures. This shift to cloud environments is viewed as essential for improving cybersecurity, as demonstrated by the lack of breaches in cloud-hosted protected environments.

Additionally, the U.S. is implementing a “zero trust” cybersecurity framework, supported by a substantial $26 billion budget dedicated to enhancing cybersecurity efforts across the government. The concept of zero trust, while representing a higher level of security controls, requires a continuous cultural shift within organizations. Leadership from CEOs and agency heads is vital to foster a positive security culture.

The delegation also discussed the critical need for workforce development in conjunction with AI and cybersecurity investments. As automation and gen-AI enhance administrative processes, questions remain about how to effectively utilize the additional time created by these efficiencies and how to upskill personnel to navigate new tools.

The delegation explored various Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms that facilitate hyper automation, which involves automating business processes. The trend towards low-code applications is also noted as a way to support agile digital transformations.

In summary, the scale of technological advancements occurring within the U.S. government, backed by strong leadership and significant funding—particularly in national security—serves as a catalyst for innovation among U.S. tech companies. These advancements are expected to be made available to markets like Australia, which is increasingly seen as a safe and viable market for U.S. technology solutions. The

deepening security relationship between the U.S. and Australia, particularly as partners in the AUKUS alliance, is poised to further strengthen collaboration across governmental and private sectors.

Overall, the AIIA delegation emphasized the importance of understanding and adopting transformative technologies to enhance Australia’s safety and economic productivity. The insights gained during this visit will be critical as Australia navigates its own technological advancements in the coming years.

Simon Bush, CEO, AIIA