A final report on the Australian Government’s 6-month trial of Copilot for Microsoft 365 (M365), which concluded in June, is expected to be completed by August 31, according to the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA).

In a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI), the DTA stated: “Early insights from the trial have identified several themes for further exploration.

“These include recordkeeping, privacy and freedom of information, and the efficacy of point in time security assessments, such as Infosec Registered Assessors Program (IRAP) assessments, for evergreen IT products that are rapidly evolving.”

There were 7000 public servants who participated in the trial.

The DTA states that while the use of AI within Australian government is not new, the rapid development of generative and general-purpose AI has exposed limitations in existing obligations and Australian laws, such as those relating to privacy, online safety, intellectual property, anti- discrimination and cyber security.

“These guardrails have and will continue to respond to some of the risks of AI. Recent developments in AI technology, however, present new challenges and highlight limitations in the current state, necessitating the development of more targeted measures to support its adoption in a safe and responsible way.”

According to reports, DTA chief executive Chris Fechner told the Senate Select Committee that Copilot was attractive to the Australian Public Service (APS) because it was built to extend the functions of over 180,000 licences of Microsoft 365 it holds.

“The DTA is now leading an evaluation of the productivity, quality and capabilities of Copilot. We will actually have that done in the next couple of months, by the end of September,” he said.