Professor Gregory O'Hare:

I wish to add something to that. It is important that we understand the fundamental difference between personal data and the associated legislation and the kind of things we are witnessing today. For example, I originally derive from Newry. There may well be some generative AI programme that makes some inference that the good people of Newry are more disposed to illegal activity because of some historical background – of course this is just tongue in cheek – and, therefore, there would be inferences made about me because there is data stored that says I was born in Newry. They do not store the data personally associated with me that results and is associated with the inference of people from Newry. I can do an appropriate disclosure of the data contained on me and there is nothing therein that potentially would protect or alert me. These are things that go way beyond personal data. All of the legislative framework that pertains to personal data makes various assumptions that the data is stored, protected, not shared and all the rest of it. However, we are talking about data relating to categories and classes of people, people from particular areas and people who previously did X, Y and Z. This is a fundamentally different form of content and it is not sufficiently legislated for within the legislative framework.