Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I should have said in my earlier response there are a number of courses that are already developed and in train through the higher and further education systems to see AI for a power of really positive good. It is the higher education institutions themselves, together with the Higher Education Authority, that develop the degree, postgraduate and masters courses. Through academic autonomy they have the right and the wherewithal to do that. If the Government was to be enunciating the type and content of courses we could be accused, rightly or wrongly, of interference in academic independence, which is something I would not want to stray into. However, all the academic institutions know the Government's view on this, which is that while AI is a power of absolute, positive good, there are risks and the biggest risk I see as the Minister with responsibility for this area is to the integrity of what a person is going to hang up on the wall after the fact. It is about whether, as Deputy Stanton said, it can be judged whether a machine has in some way interfered with the process and that we have got an unfair result. We have seen that with elections and we do not need to see it with academic output.

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