Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is the same thing. It is not simply a matter of saying we do not want to use the facial recognition technology on all this data that we gathered for whatever reasons. This is the thing with data. One does not get to gather data, potentially any kind of data, without having clear purposes as to why it is being gathered and what is being done with it. Again, we do not have the mechanisms or the framework. It is putting the cart before the horse as the AI directive has not yet been finalised in terms of the EU. That is still being finalised, debated and fine-tuned right now.

Why would we not wait either until we have developed our own ethical framework around these datum before we introduce their use? This is gathering of data from the public. Why would we introduce a wide frame that allows any kind of device, literally any kind of "device, apparatus or equipment" that can be used for the gathering of data, and have that in play before we have either our own ethical framework or even the AI directive from Europe clearly in place? It is open season and simply saying we do not want to use it for a particular purpose later on is a fishing expedition.

The Minister has given great ethical examples for which it may want to be used but again, he needs to make the case for those as per the precautionary principle. There are many non-ethical reasons that data gets used. Data can be used commercially, it can be used for profiling and in terms of targeting certain communities. There are many reasons data may be gathered in this context and in this very wide frame. There are lots of devices that give all kinds of interesting information and lots of people who are interested in all of those different kinds of interesting information. There is a reason we need a framework for how it is done and how it is analysed. The algorithms in respect of facial recognition are one part of it but there are many other parts that need to be regulated. The fact that everyone was gung-ho on facial recognition and now the dangers are being recognised is itself a cautionary tale against whatever other innovations may come up quickly in terms of data gathering.

I do not think the Minister is hitting a balance here. He is opening up a very wide door in this definition and any kind of thing could come through it. He really needs to narrow this piece of legislation. It does not need to be by primary legislation. It may be regulation, the amendment of a Schedule, or other mechanisms but there needs to be a mechanism whereby the public are really clear that when any new data gathering device is going to be used there is a clear process by which it will be properly considered, there will be thought around what data will be gathered, how it will be gathered, stored and used, and what the purposes and safeguards are. They need to know there is a clear mechanism in place and this very wide definition is not it.