Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady says Australia could miss out on a vital boost to productivity from artificial intelligence if it fails to build the core infrastructure required to underpin the technological revolution.

Ms Brady said that while many in the corporate and government sectors were excited about the potential for AI to help drive economic growth and the explosion in demand for data centre capacity – as highlighted by the recent sale of AirTrunk – there was a clear need for more investment in foundational infrastructure to deliver AI-powered applications to businesses and households.