Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pushed out a new AI vision for the State on Friday, offering the lead the nation by building a new arm of the economy around AI.
For a State short on cash and long on ambition, it is unclear how much enthusiasm there will be for Victoria to lead, but the mission statement says that, "Melbourne's CBD alone is home to 188 AI companies and around 22% of all clustered AI firms in Australia – the largest concentration in the country."
The statement brings together an interesting statement of intent padded out with some previously funding such as the $10m for Theo Farrell's Australian Centre for AI in Medical Innovation announced mid last year, and money for hubs, a sustainable data centre action plan and a digital jobs conversion program which have all trickled out in announcements over the past year.
Interestingly, La Trobe was the only uni that was name-checked in the statement, alongside TAFEs – raising the question of where universities sit in the State Government's plans for a high tech future.
The Victorian TAFE Association was obviously pleased that VET featured in the plan though and was eager to endorse – and potentially steal a chunk of the AI focus away from the university sector.
“By partnering with TAFEs to build a future-ready workforce, the Government is utilising the public TAFE network’s proven capability to drive productivity and decent, secure careers, " Alex White, CEO of the Victorian TAFE Association said in a speedily-dispatched release.
Initiatives like the Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan and the Digital Jobs – AI Career Conversion program are clear examples of how TAFE is the solution to Victoria’s most pressing challenges.”