Lynn Ruane (Independent)

On the democracy shield, Senator Higgins and I also wrote to Commissioner McGrath with the same concerns. When the democracy shield was promised by Ursula von der Leyen it sounded like Russia was the main concern in the context of election interference. However, obviously we have the American multinational tech industry and the huge fear about the role it can play through recommender systems. We in the Civil Engagement Group completely agree with the role that Commissioner McGrath should play in making sure those recommender systems are turned off in order that we are protected against that level of interference.

My question is an attempt to understand liability and accountability. I paraphrase Deputy Murphy's point about the tech industry saying to leave them be, to move over, they know what they are doing and so on. When AI fails and goes wrong, which it inevitably will and has, as we have seen in other jurisdictions, I wonder who the accountability sits with. We have an absence of updated procurement policies. We can see the issues with justice and applying it there. My concern is that if there is a procurement or tendering process, is the State liable in that system? Also, how do we respond and who responds? If we have AI that goes terribly wrong, especially as it relates to a public service, and massively impacts the lives of people, how does the State respond, who responds and who is responsible to respond? What type of research, understanding and knowledge will that public service have to respond to the negative consequences on those who have been affected by an AI failure? I am not sure if there are examples from elsewhere that would be easy to use in this regard. I hope that question is clear.