Daniel Flynn
Founder of Thank you Water
Last week, my parents-in-law were enjoying a wine at a restaurant when they saw a man repeatedly giving alcohol to a baby. Thirty minutes later, he was arrested. AI is a drug for humanity. When that drug touched capitalism, we saw rising share prices traded at the cost of mental health and increased suicide in teenage girls. Yes, AI will help solve global problems. At Thankyou, we’re using AI to build toward that too. But like alcohol, it demands regulation, cultural norms, and shared responsibility. That’s how one couple responsibly enjoys a drink while another is arrested for misuse. This paper contains critical pages in the story we must write and the guardrails we must build for a better humanity.
You'll find AI in the word humanity, but can we embed humanity in AI?
Joel Pearson
Future Minds Lab, UNSW
Australia faces an urgent AI reckoning. AI capabilities are advancing exponentially while our safety frameworks, governance systems, and family and workforce readiness lag catastrophically behind. We're seeing AI systems exhibit concerning deceptive behaviours while their capabilities double every seven months, yet our response remains fragmented and reactive. Every month we delay coordinated action across AI safety and readiness, binding governance, and comprehensive change readiness is a month closer to being governed by technologies we neither understand nor control. Our sovereignty and future depend on acting now with the urgency this moment demands."
Suresh Sood
Co-Founder Brain Value
I support this paper because it confronts a truth we have all avoided for too long in an AI-driven world. Where is the onramp for young Australians? As businesses quietly retreat from early career programs and apprenticeships, assuming automation will do the rest, we risk leaving our next generation stranded. The Lucky Country can no longer rely on luck any longer. We must deliberately invest in pathways equipping young people not just to use AI, but to lead ethically, creatively, and confidently. This paper is a clear call to act with purpose before the opportunity gap becomes a chasm.
Yanni Kyriacos
Co-Founder & Director - AI Safety, Australia & New Zealand
The international AI governance race isn't just about economic competitiveness. It's about ensuring catastrophic risks don't fall on the next generation. 69% of Australians want AI regulation, but our government is playing catch-up while Silicon Valley builds the infrastructure shaping our children's future. We need Australian leadership on global AI treaties and capability limits now, because the cost of reactive policy might be measured in lives, not just livelihoods."
Raffaele Ciriello
The message is loud and clear: without structural reform, AI will repeat and amplify social media’s harms. Under Australia’s current approach, the benefits of AI will accrue to a privileged few at the expense of everyone else, particularly the vulnerable, and especially children. We are already policytakers, not policymakers, in our own digital territory, at the mercy of offshore Big Tech executives. Put bluntly: Australia is at risk of becoming Silicon Valley’s digital colony. We owe future generations a sovereign digital infrastructure that reflects Australian values of community, fairness, and inclusivity.”
Louise Cummins
Founder, Australian Centre for AI in Marketing
We’ve seen what happens when we don’t act soon enough. Social media, vaping - these were warnings. With AI, we have a chance to get it right. But only if we move with urgency and intention. I worry about what happens if we don’t especially about the kids who get left behind because of where they live, how they learn, or the support they didn’t have. I worry about the future of work, of families, of human connection. This paper matters because it’s the beginning of a conversation we should’ve started yesterday. Let’s not miss this moment."
Noddy Sharma
Founder of Abel Movement
I support this campaign because my life's work is dedicated to helping communities and the next generation flourish. AI, in its essence, is a new form of creation, and how we shape it will determine the kind of world our children inherit.
This isn't about stopping progress; it's about guiding it with intention and faith. We have a moral responsibility to ensure that this technology serves humanity's highest good, fostering creativity and deepening our connections rather than isolating us.
By advocating for a future where AI is built with safety at its core and families are equipped to navigate it, we are not just building a better world—we are fulfilling our calling to protect and nurture the generations to come.
Doug Taylor
Every transformational technology has impacts on humans and their lives, some understood (usually the good stuff) and some ‘unexpected’ impacts (the bad stuff). Social media is a good example, everyone in digital marketing (me included) jumped into the social revolution, and encouraged their marketing clients to invest big. What we now understand is that social media has negative impacts on mental health and has adversely impacted a whole generation of children. With the advent of AI, we will have many benefits for society and science, but we need to do better mitigating the risks (for example cognitive skills and mental health) for the next generation of young people. That’s why this initiative; this conversation is critical.
Camilla Cook
"History has told us that adoption of new technology, like any tide, cannot be easily held back. Therefore our focus for vulnerable youth and AI should not be prohibition, but education and adaptation. As well as ensuring youth understand as best they can what they are dealing with, we need to develop and distribute versions of the technology that encourage positive mental health behaviours and enhance rather than replace human connection. Let this become a channel that supports youth - helps address isolation, provides solace through difficult times and boosts confidence to help drive their sociability in the real world. We have a limited window to design the future for youth, before it is designed for us by generative AI."
Jisoo Kim
Director + Co-Founder Clear AI
Young Australians are growing up alongside AI. With the right choices, we can unlock new opportunities for learning, creativity and connection. But without the right policies and guardrails, we risk exposing them to systems they can’t fully understand and futures they can’t control. The Australian Government must act now to ensure AI protects — not replaces — their education, wellbeing, relationships and economic futures.
And here's a callout to millennials — regardless of whether you may or may not have children of your own yet. We have a unique responsibility in this moment. We lived through the shift from analogue to digital. We understand both worlds. We must help younger generations navigate the digital risks we learnt through trial and error, while translating their lived realities to the generation of leaders making historic decisions on how AI is developed, deployed, used and regulated in our world."
Marcus Byrne
Head of Art and AI, Thinkerbell
Algorithm-driven culture shifts, too much screen time, the breakdown of real connection and the family unit. It’s happened already, the fabric of society and human connection is eroding. We’re already behind the 8 ball. This will be amplified by AI if we let it. I work at the intersection of creativity and AI, and I see both the opportunity and the risk every day. If we don’t get ahead of this, we risk leaving kids behind, especially those without access, support or representation. This isn’t just about tech. It’s about the future of work, creativity and human connection. We can’t afford to sleep on this.
Lee Casuscelli
Australian Schools Plus
Every Australian classroom should be a launchpad for the AI age, not a reminder of the digital divide. The gap isn't just about having computers – it's about teachers equipped to guide critical thinking about AI and curricula that build uniquely human skills. Educational equity isn't a nice-to-have anymore; it's a national imperative."
"This research matters because the students who could be tomorrow's AI innovators are often struggling with today's homework due to lack of reliable internet or family support. We're not just teaching coding – we're nurturing empathy, ethical reasoning, and creative problem-solving. If we don't level the playing field now, AI will amplify inequality instead of opportunity."
"Education has always prepared young people for unpredictable futures, but this time feels different. We can't wait for perfect solutions. We need bold action in classrooms today – investing in disadvantaged schools and ensuring every student develops both digital literacy and critical thinking skills to navigate an AI-saturated world