Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. She will be aware the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was not created to be just an administrative Department for universities and places of further and higher education, but rather to prepare Ireland for the technological revolution we are experiencing. A student who is due to sit his or her leaving certificate next month is more than likely to be in the world of work until the year 2070. If we reflect on the 1970s, we can see how rapidly technology has changed since then and we can also consider the exponential change we are going to see over the next four or five decades, especially in artificial intelligence, the data economy and applications. There is much positive potential in this area. The Government's own strategy, AI - Here for Good, outlines some of these. It sets out that the Government's ambition is to be an international leader in using AI to benefit our society and economy. It will be transformative in healthcare, transport and education and training, but it will be hugely disruptive as well. One of the big changes with this technology and automation is it will often hit some of the higher paid professions more than automation hit other functions in the past.

In recent months, we have seen the rise of ChatGPT and other AI language models. These are being used within our education system in particular. It is upending thoughts about how we assess students and educators have to respond. It is important we are proactive in our response. My question relates to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, but it is equally relevant to the Minister of State's Department. It is not good enough for us to be negative, say "woe is us" and step back or to ban the use of ChatGPT, as some universities have tried to do, though none in this country. We cannot adopt a wait-and-see approach and we have to be proactive. Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, is doing some good work in this area but we need consistency across our further and higher education systems and our education and training systems generally. We need clearer rules on how institutions, such as universities and others, allow the use of ChatGPT. Students must have an understanding of how AI and chatbots work and when they can and cannot use them. That must be very much based on an ethical framework. It is essential to the debate we must have across our educational system that we are proactive and do not simply wait for the technology to overtake us. This is coming. It is going to happen at a faster rate than we ever imagined and we have to be prepared. That is why it is important we have a public debate involving further and higher education providers, the education family generally, students and users and also those who are designing some of these new AI programmes and platforms. There is no doubt AI will be one of the most transformative technologies in education and wider society over the next decade.