The Greens want WA to follow in the footsteps of South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and launch our own inquiry into the proliferation of artificial intelligence.

On Monday, the Malinauskas government announced it would hold a royal commission examining AI, with the premier outlining a focus on how the technology operated across society, and the terms of reference to be finalised within the next six weeks.

“The opportunities are clearly real, we can advance productivity, we can improve outcomes for working people ... but it’s also true if we don’t do this properly we could see very significant changes in the way people work,” Malinauskas said.

WA Greens democracy spokesman Tim Clifford said the rapid development of AI, along with the proliferation of data centres to support it, had brought the state to a crossroads. He called for a parliamentary inquiry into the topic.