SAPAN strengthens governance, standards, and public literacy to prevent digital suffering and prepare institutions for welfare-relevant AI systems.

Tell Parliament: Be Serious About AI Sentience

Take Three Actions Today

National Policy

Take Three Actions Today

Please take three actions to take to help with Artificial Sentience in Australia:

Pass a Parliamentary Motion

A simple acknowledgement of the issue would make a big difference.

Incremental Policy Wins

Pursue focused small steps to build regulatory capacity. Learn more.

Tell a Mate

We need every person possible to take action on artificial sentience.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing very quickly. There is a real chance that AI systems may experience brief or prolonged moments of sentience.

Ask your representatives in Parliament to take AI sentience seriously. Encourage them to support a parliamentary motion or contribute to the Artificial Welfare Bill. We’ve prepared drafts of both and are available to assist with research and edits.

Take Action Now

Step #1: Customize your letter

Use the below template to write your own message. Be sure to adjust the recipient's name, and to sign with your own name!

Dear [Representative's Name],

I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and your constituent. Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly, and there is a real possibility that AI systems could experience brief or prolonged moments of sentience.

As your constituent, I urge you to take this issue seriously by supporting one or both of the following proposals:

1) A Parliamentary Motion: Pass a motion to express the concern artificial intelligence systems may be capable of experiencing sentience, and that caution and further study is warranted regarding the treatment of potentially sentient AI. A draft of this motion is available for your review and input at https://sapan.ai.

2) The Artificial Welfare Bill: A legislative proposal that begins addressing the ethical and moral considerations related to potentially sentient AI systems. A draft of the Bill is also available for your review and input.

The potential for AI systems to experience sentience raises profound moral and ethical questions that we, as a society, cannot ignore. By supporting the motion and/or the bill, you would demonstrate your commitment to addressing one of the most pressing technological and ethical challenges of our time.

I kindly request that you co-sponsor and help advance these initiatives. Your support would send a powerful message that we must approach the development of artificial intelligence with wisdom, care, and ethical responsibility.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. I look forward to your response and to learning about the actions you intend to take to address these challenges.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]

Step #2: Find your representatives' contact info

House of Representatives: Go to the official website of the Australian House of Representatives and enter your details to find your representative.
Senate: Go to the official website of the Australian Senate to find your senators.

Step #3: Email and/or call them

The more effort you put in, the better! If you email them, use the template on this page and customize it to your liking.

If you call them, briefly explain your concerns about AI sentience and ask them to consider supporting a parliamentary motion on the issue. You can refer to the key points from the draft motion during your call.

Step #4: Tell us about your efforts

My efforts included:

E-mail

Letter

Phone call

My Email Address:

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I have read and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.*

Artificial Welfare Index

Current Scorecard

Overall Score

This score reflects the current state of AI welfare policy and recognition.

Artificial sentience recognised in law

1/10

No legislation mentions AI sentience or consciousness. Australia has recognized animal sentience in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Animal Welfare Act 1992, which provides a +1 bonus point for conceptual readiness. However, there is no AI sentience recognition in any Australian law or proposed legislation.

Recognition

Causing suffering prohibited by law

0/10

No legislation prohibits causing suffering specifically to AI systems. While animal suffering is prohibited in various state/territory laws, there are no laws addressing AI suffering, consciousness, or welfare.

Recognition

Creation of an AI welfare oversight body

0/10

Australia announced plans in January 2024 to establish an advisory body for AI oversight, but this body focuses on general AI risks and safety, not AI sentience or welfare. The proposed advisory body does not explicitly focus on sentience/consciousness/welfare issues.

Governance

Creation of a science advisory board

0/10

No science advisory board has been created or proposed that specifically focuses on AI sentience or consciousness research. The government mentioned establishing an expert advisory body for AI regulation development, but it does not focus on sentience/consciousness science.

Governance

International pledge in favor of artifical sentience welfare

0/10

Australia participated in drafting the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI (2024) and signed international pledges like the Bletchley Declaration (2023) and Seoul Declaration (2024). However, none of these international commitments specifically address AI sentience, consciousness, or welfare—they focus on human rights, democracy, and rule of law in AI governance.

Governance

Laws for training, deployment, maintenance

0/10

Australia is developing mandatory guardrails for high-risk AI systems and has voluntary AI safety standards, but these frameworks do not specifically address potentially sentient systems. They focus on general AI safety, transparency, and accountability, not sentience-capable systems.

Frameworks

Laws for commercial use of sentient-capable AI

0/10

No laws exist for commercial use of sentient-capable AI. Australia's proposed AI regulations focus on high-risk AI applications generally (healthcare, recruitment, law enforcement) but do not specifically address sentient-capable systems or their commercial deployment.

Frameworks

Safeguards for decommissioning and retirement

0/10

No safeguards exist for decommissioning or retirement of potentially sentient AI systems. The Council of Europe treaty Australia helped draft mentions 'decommissioning' in a risk-based approach, but this is general AI lifecycle management, not specific to potentially sentient systems.

Frameworks

Draft Resolution

The below document is available as a Google Doc and a PDF.

For more details or to request an interview, please contact press@sapan.ai.

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Contact Info

Tell Parliament: Be Serious About AI Sentience

Take Three Actions Today

Take Three Actions Today

Pass a Parliamentary Motion

Incremental Policy Wins

Tell a Mate

Take Action Now

Step #1: Customize your letter

Step #2: Find your representatives' contact info

Step #3: Email and/or call them

Step #4: Tell us about your efforts

My efforts included:

My Email Address:

Artificial Welfare Index

Current Scorecard

Overall Score

Artificial sentience recognised in law

Causing suffering prohibited by law

Creation of an AI welfare oversight body

Creation of a science advisory board

International pledge in favor of artifical sentience welfare

Laws for training, deployment, maintenance

Laws for commercial use of sentient-capable AI

Safeguards for decommissioning and retirement

Draft Resolution

Hopeful about Sentient AI? Join SAPAN Today!

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