Australia's AI Blind Spot: Why We Need a Sovereign Model Before It's Too Late

When you use a US-based AI tool, who actually has access to your data? It's a question most Australian businesses haven't thought to ask, and the answer might surprise you.In this episode, Andrew and Amir chat with Simon Kriss, CEO of Sovereign AI Australia, to dig into one of the most important conversations in Australian tech right now: why Australia needs its own foundational AI model, what the US Cloud Act actually means for local businesses, and whether trust in AI can ever be rebuilt without sovereign infrastructure.Simon brings a rare combination of perspectives, customer experience executive, AI practitioner, and now the person pushing to build Australia's first truly independent large language model. He's not arguing that Australia needs to compete with ChatGPT. He's arguing something more urgent: that there are categories of work — agentic processes, health data, citizen records — where sending information offshore is a risk we can no longer ignore.In this conversation, you'll hear:Why Australians trust AI at home but not in business — and what the data saysWhat the US Cloud Act is and why it matters for any company using AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft AzureThe difference between a "domestic" AI model and a truly "sovereign" oneWhy fine-tuning an open-source model like Llama doesn't solve the problemHow agentic AI is creating new cybersecurity risks that most SMEs aren't prepared forWhat a $100 million Australian-built model could realistically look likeSimon's personal favourite AI use case (it involves a one-hour drive and a voice conversation)Whether you're a business owner wondering if your data is safe, or someone genuinely curious about the future of AI in Australia — this one is worth your time.About Simon KrissSimon Kriss is the CEO of Sovereign AI Australia and author of The AI Empowered Customer Experience. With a background spanning customer experience, call centres, and enterprise AI, Simon has spent years at the intersection of AI and real-world business impact. He is currently working to establish Australia's first independently funded, ethically built foundational AI model.Find out more: sovereignai.com.auAbout ROI from AIROI from AI is produced by SMEC AI — Australia's free government-funded AI adoption program for small and medium businesses. Each episode, hosts Andrew Lai and Amir Nissen talk to the people driving AI adoption and find out what's really moving the needle.Find out if your business is eligible at smecai.au