Mr. Pat Mellon:

I welcome what the Senator has said. A great sport in Ireland is kicking your politician. We do that and love it. However, we ultimately respect politicians. We have voted for them and given them the power of representation. I would like the committee to consider a scenario whereby a pharmaceutical company or doctor released a virus across the world that could replicate and change to suit its own benefits. What would committee members do in that case? We would expect and want them in any such case to take the steps to control the virus. AI has been released. It will replicate. We trust and want our politicians to take steps to keep control. Across the Atlantic, a politician is surrounded by Bezos, Zuckerburg and Musk. They are not there for the good of the politician or of the people. That is why we will be asking the politicians, whom we trust, to keep control of this. When representatives of the technology companies come before the committee, I ask members to remind them that they represent the people.