Results 1-20 of 1,801 for speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I welcome the news from the Minister, Deputy Foley, today that she will move to address the problem of grade inflation at leaving certificate and that we will move back slowly, starting with the leaving certificate in 2025. Obviously, it will not impact on any leaving certificate students this year. However, I am concerned that those who might have benefited from the grade inflation in...

Seanad: Cost of Doing Business: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Like others, I welcome the Minister. He served very well as Minister of State at the Department of housing and as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. I am certain he will bring his own innovative style to this job. I also pay tribute to his predecessor, Deputy Simon Coveney, who regularly attended this House and was certainly willing to engage with Members on...

Seanad: Cost of Doing Business: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Cost of Doing Business: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I so move.

Seanad: School Enrolments: Motion (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I second the motion.

Seanad: School Enrolments: Motion (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I thank the Minister for taking this important issue raised by my colleague Senator O'Loughlin. The Minister will be aware that the transition from primary to secondary school should be as smooth as possible, but where a student is uncertain of having a second level place, it is stressful for the individual and their family. As Senator O'Loughlin...

Seanad: School Enrolments: Motion (17 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: No pressure. There is a challenge whereby individual schools have their own recruitment and application systems. If a student applies, say in the case of Gorey, to each of the three schools and is offered a place in each, they normally have a period in which they have to make up their mind. For certain students who have not been offered places, it is concerning to be told they are on a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chathaoirleach agus an Ceannaire Gníomheach. I am delighted to see Senator Seery Kearney in the Leader's chair today. I echo the remarks of my colleague, Senator Dooley, concerning Eir and its disgraceful consumer service. Stronger action is needed against companies such as that for their appalling public service. The issue I want to raise relates to...

Seanad: Agriculture: Statements (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister for his work in this space because it has certainly been a very difficult year, as he has acknowledged, for a lot of farmers and food producers. I welcome the measures he has taken, including for instance around the interim ACRES payments and recognising that getting money into farmers’ pockets is critical. The Minister will be aware that it has been an...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I am grateful for the opportunity to attend this meeting. I have dealt with a number of the witnesses previously at the media committee. I appreciate much of the work they do, but they will forgive me for saying that I am not convinced, particularly when we talk about the capacity of AI to protect children online in the circumstances concerned. Even though Mr. Ó Broin talked about how...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I do appreciate the point Ms Moss is making. My concern frequently relates to a phrase being used today by the Australian eSafety Commissioner, which is that online content once seen cannot be unseen. I appreciate there may be hundreds of videos about camogie or interior design, but the issue is the dangerous material that people have seen. All present will be very familiar with the work...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I appreciate that. I acknowledge that there are efforts to address this from Meta's perspective, particularly in terms of human content moderation. I know from our engagement with Meta at the media committee we have acknowledged that. It is still a concern, however. The concern is that once it is seen, it cannot be unseen. If a teenager or, in some instances, a younger person who...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I appreciate it. I will be honest with X and say that I have at least been somewhat impressed by the efforts on behalf of TikTok and Meta but I have not been on the part of X. I raised this at the media committee before, that is, the fact it is getting rid of human content moderation. It is a really serious problem. The model that recommendations are driven by likes and shares is a...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I am sorry for interrupting Ms Dilé but how can she argue that when in November 2022, prior to Elon Musk taking over X, Twitter as it was then employed 5,500 human content moderators? Today it employs 2,500. That to me is not a sign of a commitment to human content moderation. I agree that technology can do a lot of good stuff, but it will not capture nuance and everything else. Does...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I am sorry to interrupt again, but could Ms Dilé quantify what she means when she talks about hiring more people? Will X be returning to 5,500 human content moderators, which was the kind of number it had prior to the Musk takeover?

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Ms Dilé says X is hiring more people. What are the numbers? For instance, by the end of this year, how many human content moderators will X have globally and within the European Union?

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I might ask that that would happen. One of the problem with some of the content that viewers are seeing, including teenagers, is that the algorithm for the recommender model works on the basis of likes and shares. Given that about 20% of accounts on X are bots or trolls, if I am a bot or a troll and I want to push a particular agenda, that is what I do. Does Ms Dilé not accept that...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I appreciate the protections for children, but part of the difficulty there is that X is placing a lot of responsibility on the user. That is important in particular when one thinks about 13- to 18-year-olds who may not be fully aware of how the systems work. It is a general challenge on the educational side. I still have to ask why the platform does not take down some of those accounts far...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Thank you.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Vacant Properties (11 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I appreciate the Minister of State taking this matter, which concerns the ongoing problem of buildings that are either in the ownership or management of the HSE. I understand there are potentially up to 400 such buildings nationwide that have been left derelict or underutilised. While much of the...