Everyone in Canberra agrees action is needed on AI. But what to do and how? And at what cost?

Balancing productivity gains with the potentially negative impact on jobs and our way of life will be a defining issue for governments for decades

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Despite commissioning another process into how Australia might deal with artificial intelligence, the Labor government will soon have to stop studying and start making key decisions about how (and how much) to regulate the rapidly ballooning technology.

Like many regulation questions in the tech space - see the under-16s social media ban, the long-delayed response to Peta Murphy's gambling advertising report, and questions over the news bargaining incentive - any move is likely to raise hackles of at least half, probably more, of the participants in the discussion.