Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 20, inclusive, together.

I travelled to Paris for the AI Action Summit on 10 and 11 February, co-hosted by President Macron and Prime Minister Modi of India. The summit gathered key stakeholders to explore how we can develop artificial intelligence, AI, technologies and uses globally while ensuring that nobody is left behind. It also discussed preserving our freedoms in the AI revolution and ensuring that the technology serves society and the public interest. The event included a working dinner at the Elysée on Monday evening, attended by political, business and civil society leaders, and a closing ceremony at the Grand Palais on Tuesday morning, which was live-streamed. The closing ceremony featured panel discussions and keynote remarks, including from President Macron, Prime Minister Modi, US Vice-President Vance and European Commission President von der Leyen. Panellists included musician-producer Pharrell Williams, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union.

In my engagements, I emphasised the need to embrace the opportunities that AI can offer across all sectors for our start-ups and enterprise base and, ultimately, for our citizens and their quality of life. We must acknowledge the watershed nature of AI as a breakthrough technology. AI can be a game-changer in helping us to deal with many of the economic and societal challenges we face here in Ireland and across the European Union. We need a balanced approach that does not stifle entrepreneurship or over-burden innovative firms with regulation. We must be open to the significant economy-wide productivity gains made possible by fast-growing young firms at the technological frontier. AI can also help transform the delivery of our public services. This includes exciting potential in the health sector, such as diagnostics, and in the management of disease and chronic illnesses. We also need to ensure that the AI revolution does not come at the expense of the most vulnerable in society, that it does not deepen existing digital and gender divides and that it does not risk the erosion of individual freedoms, including freedom of expression. We need to protect our children and young people online, protect the integrity of our democratic values and combat the effects of disinformation. Ireland will continue to be a strong voice in Europe to ensure that we are striking the right balance on innovation-friendly rules for trustworthy AI, consistent with our democratic values.

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