A thought-provoking article published in The Age this week highlights a conversation that every regional community should be paying attention to. Speaking ahead of Melbourne Assembly, former New York mayor Bill de Blasio argues that while cities face familiar challenges such as housing, transport and climate change, artificial intelligence will ultimately become the most challenging and pervasive issue they face. More importantly, he warns that its future cannot be left to national governments or large technology companies to dictate.

His reasoning is simple. While AI is often discussed as a global technology issue, many of its consequences will be profoundly local. Employment, workforce transition, economic opportunity, education, healthcare and public services will all be shaped within communities. Cities and regions therefore need their own vision for how they will respond.

At BRAIN, we believe this conversation should not stop at Melbourne’s city limits.

Regional Australia has as much at stake as our capital cities, yet too often the discussion is framed through a metropolitan lens. Ballarat and Western Victoria have different industries, different employers, different demographics and different aspirations. The opportunities AI creates, and the challenges it presents, will therefore look different here than they do in Melbourne, Sydney or overseas.

That is precisely why BRAIN was established.

We believe regions need their own institutions capable of understanding, interpreting and responding to technological change. Rather than waiting for policy to emerge from Canberra or adopting frameworks developed elsewhere, regional communities should be building their own capability, evidence base and leadership. AI is not simply another technology to implement; it is becoming a defining force that will shape economic development, workforce capability, education, governance and community resilience for decades to come.

This work cannot be left solely to governments or technology companies.

It requires businesses willing to experiment, educators preparing future generations, community organisations understanding local impacts, researchers contributing evidence, and regional leaders working together to build a shared vision. The decisions we make over the next few years will influence whether regions like ours become active participants in the AI economy or passive consumers of decisions made elsewhere.

Bill de Blasio is right to argue that AI requires local leadership.

Our view is that this leadership is just as important for Ballarat and Western Victoria as it is for Melbourne.

If you are interested in how artificial intelligence will shape business, government, education and our broader community, we invite you to join the conversation through BRAIN. Together, we can build the capability, governance and regional leadership needed to ensure Western Victoria thrives in an AI-enabled future.

About the Author

Matt Bowd is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Ballarat Region Artificial Intelligence Network (BRAIN). Through his work, he focuses on the governance, institutional and regional implications of artificial intelligence, with a particular interest in helping regional communities build the capability required to thrive in an AI-enabled economy.