Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thankfully I have been back playing football for a while, so I am still match fit and was able to bounce back this morning. It was good fun. At the end we had a brief presentation from Lev from the Irish Homeless Street Leagues which I have been supporting for some years. A few years ago, we developed a bid to host the Homeless World Cup here in Ireland. We were shortlisted for selection and then Covid arrived. Obviously, we were not able to progress that because the Homeless World Cup has not happened. We will need about €2 million in funding. We had some conversations with Dublin City Council. Over the coming months I will be looking to colleagues to come together to support us in ramping that bid back up and bringing the Homeless World Cup here to Ireland.

The main issue I wish to raise today is a debate on the use of artificial intelligence, AI, in decisions in Ireland. In the United States there is enormous use of AI and algorithms and there is bias in algorithms. There is greater use of companies such as Clearview AI. The UK is using and relying on algorithms much more and that is also the case here in Ireland. Obviously, the Department of Social Protection has a major resource in terms of its use of biometric processing that would have been brought in at the time of the introduction of the public services card. Such data and algorithms are becoming more widely used in the public sector in Ireland.

I do not think the public really understands the architecture of that and the ethics underpinning that, and the fact that we can demand an explanation if an algorithm has been used to make a particular decision. I suppose my interest in this area is that I am currently taking a course on AI and ethics to develop my understanding to be able to take this forward. Obviously, my fear is of inbuilt discrimination, based on race or ethnicity. If we do not fully understand it, how can we engage with AI and the use of algorithms with big tech to actually build that data?

The Seanad should begin to think about those questions and have those debates. I am not even sure which Minister would take such a debate. Where are algorithms currently being used? How are the data trained? How much human oversight is involved in that? We need to begin to arm ourselves as policymakers and politicians to ensure that whenever an algorithm is being used, we understand its architecture and can work to ensure that it is not being used to discriminate against any community based on class, race or gender. We need to think about how we can do that.

I will not be able to stay for the Leader's response as my colleague, Senator Flynn, is launching the report from the Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community.