Ms Rebecca Keatinge:

Those are exactly the conversations that we are having and were raised recently. In terms of our own journey, we recently obtained legal advice to really delve into what precisely is required under Article 77. I should preface that by saying the information we have been provided with to date from the Department is that these functions will not require more resourcing because they are not specific mandates; they are just a role and are part of our broader remit. As it has come out, and it is a theme in the discussion today, the level of technical know-how and expertise required to properly interrogate these uses of AI from a human rights perspective are very specific and are not currently within the organisation. That is a discussion we will need to continue to have.

In terms of our own preparedness, this mandate sits within my team and we also have a mandate under the UNCRPD on disability and as a national rapporteur on human trafficking. This is a separate and different function. One part we need to look at is how we can use our existing powers and functions to address AI because that is partly what is envisaged under the EU AI Act. Part of our function will be to report back to the market surveillance authorities and part of it will be to inform what targeted action we take. That is another aspect we will need to give consideration to. We are engaged with our European networks as well, as has been mentioned, which are all facing similar challenges. Those conversations are very helpful in terms of what resourcing we might need.