Ms Charlotte Olhausen:

It is really important to bear the UNCRPD in mind with all AI development. The EU AI Act states it is aligned with the convention. Ireland as a state party to the convention has to take into consideration the rights enshrined in the UNCRPD when it is developing AI policy on a national level and looking at AI innovation.

Going to cocreation and codesign first, the European economic and social committee has an opinion piece on including persons with disabilities in the development of new technologies and AI. It strongly recommends including disabled people throughout the process of designing, developing, assessing and implementing new technologies. Without this component we will be further away from mitigating potential discriminatory risks. As others have said as well, if we do not consult with people with disabilities not only will their voices not be heard in terms of potential risks but AI will also not be developed and shaped by them to improve their lives. As Ms Apaza- Machara said, there is much imbalance between the negatives in terms of the risks and the positives. It is about really finding a balance there. We know that Ireland has to establish its national AI office. I think that may be done some time next year. One measure could be ensuring that disability is very much prioritised in that office and potentially creating a disability in AI advisory group or something to this effect and ensuring in doing so that people with disabilities in all their diversity are included in those conversations. That speaks to the intersectionality point as well.