David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I think Deputy Bruton said earlier that the genie is out of the bottle now. The genie in mythological times in the Arab world was an extremely powerful being that answered your wishes when you asked it for something. I get the impression that this AI is bordering on that in some ways; it is extraordinarily powerful. We talked about the AI Act in Europe. That covers Europe. There is also regulation in other OECD states and they are moving on that. However, a lot of this can be accessed through a smartphone, tablet or indeed a PC. The three companies in front of us were founded not so long ago by individuals, Larry Page, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, from a standing start, basically, in each case. What is to stop somebody in a country that does not have regulation from using AI for negative purposes, for developing pathogens, manipulating genetics or whatever? The genie is out of the bottle and it is available everywhere. We have our Act here but in other jurisdictions no such controls apply. That concerns me. I wonder if I could get our guests' reactions to that, please.