CONTESTED GROUND: When AI goes rogue – the emerging threat Australia isn’t ready for

Joint-capabilities
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By: Robyn Tongol

Artificial intelligence promises to transform productivity, business and government – but what happens when the technology starts making decisions its human operators never intended?

Artificial intelligence promises to transform productivity, business and government – but what happens when the technology starts making decisions its human operators never intended?

In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Phil Tarrant is joined by Major General (Ret’d) Dr Marcus Thompson to examine the rapidly emerging security risks surrounding AI, from autonomous agents exploiting vulnerabilities to the growing challenge of keeping increasingly powerful systems inside appropriate guardrails.

With businesses racing to deploy AI and governments grappling with how – or whether – to regulate it, Tarrant and Thompson explore whether Australia is moving fast enough to understand the threat, protect critical systems and ensure the technology designed to make us more productive doesn’t become a new contested ground itself.

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Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: PODCAST: Containerised solutions and human-in-the-loop systems at Land Forces 2026, with IAI’s Maxim Zemer
Episode 10: SPOTLIGHT: Lockheed Martin Australia’s priorities, leadership and life after service, with Jeremy King
Episode 9: THE PROGRESS REPORT: Leadership, mentorship and life at sea – Commander Melanie Lennard on 17 years in the Royal Australian Navy
Episode 8: PODCAST: Australia’s munitions manufacturing push at Land Forces 2026, with NIOA Group’s Robert Nioa
Episode 7: PODCAST: EOS showcases new interceptor and layered drone defence at Land Forces 2026, with Lee Kormany
Episode 6: CONTESTED GROUND: The information advantage – how AI is reshaping influence, competition and power
Episode 5: PODCAST: Next-generation equipment at Land Forces 2026, with Aquaterro’s Graeme Bulte
Episode 4: SPOTLIGHT: Defence electronics supply chains, counterfeit components and shortages
Episode 3: PODCAST: AUKUS, China and Australia’s defence industrial future, with former prime minister Scott Morrison
Episode 2: PODCAST: Frontier AI, cyber warfare, and defending Australia’s military networks, with Wendi Whitmore and Tom Scully