Telstra joins United Nations AI panel after dumping carbon offset ‘sham’, hikes broadband plans

A week after Australia’s biggest telco withdrew from the Albanese government’s Climate Active scheme, it has joined a UN lobby group to tout the responsible use of AI.

Telstra CEO Vicki Brady says the telco is struggling to keep up with big tech who are wooing its lucrative corporate customers. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

Telstra says it has joined a “select group of global organisations” on a United Nations panel to “champion and advance the ethical development and application” of artificial intelligence.

Australia’s biggest telco announced it had signed up to the group, a week after it withdrew from the federal government’s Climate Active carbon-neutral labelling program after the initiative attracted strong criticism that it was a “sham” and fraud on taxpayers and the environment.

Telstra also wrote to customers late last month, saying it was hiking the cost of its broadband plans by almost 5 per cent a month, citing wholesale price increases from NBN Co. This was two days before Telstra announced it was sacking 2800 workers, or 9 per cent of its overall workforce. Chief executive Vicki Brady said the telco is struggling to compete with big tech, which are wooing its lucrative corporate customers as it races to make $400m in cost savings as part of its much-hyped T25 strategy.

Telstra’s group executive of product & technology Kim Krogh Anderson and assistant director-general for social and human sciences of UNESCO Gabriela Ramos.

The AI panel is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Business Council. It aims to ensure that AI technologies be “governed by values that promote human rights, dignity, and environmental sustainability, emphasising transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law”.

Telstra technology executive Kim Krogh Anderson said the panel was aimed at delivering “practical action and tangible outcomes”.

Telstra has already deployed AI across half of its operations as part of its T25 strategy to become fully AI-enabled in coming years.

“AI is a transformative technology that has the potential to benefit societies globally – but it requires very careful and deliberate stewardship,” Mr Krogh Anderson said.

“UNESCO and Telstra share a vision for a future where AI is driven by ethical principles that prioritise human welfare. This collaboration marks a significant step towards realising that future.”

The panel lobbies governments across 50 countries and works with tech giants, including Microsoft and Salesforce, to push for what it calls responsible AI governance. Western democracies are taking different approaches to reining in the much-hyped technology – which has been touted as bigger than the launch of PCs, internet and smartphones.

Telstra hiked the price of its broadband plans next month.

The European Union has introduced a specific AI Act – the “first comprehensive regulation on AI by a major regulator anywhere” – while Australia has adopted a more US-style approach, believing that current laws can tame AI.

Mr Krogh Andersen said Telstra would support policy development in “critical areas such as data governance and diversity”. He said the UNESCO Business Council will also work to develop an ethical impact assessment tool, as well as joint initiatives to ensure AI serves the public good.

“In such a fast-moving space, collaboration is a non-negotiable. We all need to lean on and learn from each other, to ensure AI is developed and deployed in a way that respects human rights, diversity and dignity.

“UNESCO and Telstra share a vision for a future where AI is driven by ethical principles that prioritise human welfare. This collaboration marks a significant step towards realising that future.”

The speed of AI product launches has been unprecedented, sparking concern that the technology companies are racing ahead before regulators or governments can understand the full implications of the technology.

Elon Musk — a former OpenAI board member — called for a pause in the rampant development of artificial intelligence. A six-month moratorium, Musk and others including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said, would allow industry to ward off potential harms associated with the technology.

But most tech companies are advocating self-regulation. Microsoft – which has vaulted ahead in the AI race after it reportedly invested $US13bn into ChatGPT maker OpenAI – delayed the launch of its Recall feature – the centrepiece of its Copilot+ AI laptops – earlier this month after it sparked privacy concerns. Recall was designed to capture everything viewed or recorded on a PC, which Microsoft says gives users the ability to tap into “photographic memory” to help find files more easily.

Microsoft head of Windows Pavan Davuluri said the company halted the launch of the feature after “receiving feedback on Recall from our Windows Insider Community”. “We are adjusting the release model for Recall to leverage the expertise of the Windows Insider community to ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security,” Mr Davuluri said.

“This decision is rooted in our commitment to providing a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers and to seek additional feedback prior to making the feature available to all Copilot+ PC users.”

In regard to broadband price increases, a Telstra spokeswoman said the company was “constantly striving to balance the needs of our customers whilst ensuring we remain financially sustainable”, before pointing the finger at NBN Co.

“NBN Co is increasing the price they charge us for wholesale internet and this is an important factor for the changes we’re making, along with our ability to keep investing in our network, products and services while responding to increased data usage. This includes 24/7 network monitoring to help protect against scams, 4G back-up to help keep you connected in an outage and support from our local teams when you need us,” the spokeswoman said.

“We are very conscious of the impact this has on our customers – especially those finding it hard to pay for their Telstra services. We have a range of options to help customers who need payment assistance, including giving more time to pay; a tailored payment plan and reviewing accounts to see if the customer might benefit from moving to a more affordable plan or product, or removing any services or features not needed. Importantly, our month-to-month plans with no lock-in contracts give our customers the flexibility to move between plans as their needs change.”

NBN Co has attracted criticism from the federal Opposition over its decision to charge some customers about $9000 to receive fibre upgrades while other receive it free of charge. Liberal MPs have also expressed concern over NBN Co’s Sky Muster satellite business, which has been losing ground to Elon Musk’s Starlink and other providers.