A small survey of Australian tech leaders shows that most believe AI will become the defining technology of 2024, according to new research by the peak tech industry body.

The report summarises the findings from a survey carried out between December 2023 and January 2024 by the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) which received 46 responses.

TCA acting CEO Ryan Black says generative AI has the potential to add up to $115 billion to the national economy by 2030.

However, AI innovation and adoption will need to balanced with more regulatory certainty and a clear nation plan, he says.

“The 2024 federal budget provides an opportunity to continue this important work,” Mr Black said.

Other top tech trends to be aware of include cyber security, and other so called ‘deep tech’  trends, TCA’s research shows.

While more than two in three tech leaders say AI is on track to be the dominant trend this year, one in six think quantum technology and space could overtake AI as 2024’s defining trends.

“AI is absolutely front of mind, but the results show that emerging technologies in lesser-known areas of the tech sector may become dark horse trends this year,” Mr Black said.

Government sector lags on patching

It comes as a separate research paper produced by cyber security company Absolute found that according to a global analysis, government had one of the worst patching records of all the sectors looked at, along with education.

Absolute’s Cyber Resilience Risk Index 2024 analysed data from 5 million PCs around the world.

The report doesn’t provide information specific to Australia.

According to the  index, education and government took 119 and 82 days respectively to patch software and ensure the right security controls were in place.

The report found that 92 per cent of devices don’t meet the basic requirements needed to efficiently handle modern AI applications.

The research also revealed that most industries continue to run almost two months behind in patching software and most enterprise PCs will need to be replaced to support AI-based technologies.