Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Malcolm Byrne as ucht an rún seo faoi chúrsaí intleachta saorga chur os ár gcomhair. Bhí díospóireacht shuimiúil againn agus gabhaim buíochas le gach Seanadóir a bhí páirteach inti. I thank Senators for this useful debate.

The national Al strategy, Al - Here for Good, has been in place for two years. I acknowledge the work that was put into the strategy by my predecessor, Deputy Troy, who was working on it long before there was a lot of attention on the issue. I published a progress report on 9 August this year that highlighted some of the achievements Senators have acknowledged this evening. These achievements include the appointment and excellent ongoing work of our national Al ambassador, Dr. Patricia Scanlon, and the establishment of an enterprise digital advisory forum. The first iteration of that forum has now finished its terms of office and I will be appointing a new forum shortly. We have had the publication by the National Standards Authority of Ireland of its AI Standards & Assurance Roadmap. We have also established a number of hubs, including Ireland's European digital innovation hub for Al at CeADAR in UCD.

This motion recognises the positive environment the Government has created for the development and deployment of trustworthy, person-centred Al. I absolutely recognise the concerns people have, including those expressed in the motion and the debate. It is important that they are articulated and discussed. Regarding skills development, priorities across government for the year ahead include supporting workers, businesses and enterprise on Al adoption, as well as upskilling, reskilling and adapting. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the Department of Education and their partners are working hard on the skills dimension of the national digital strategy, which sets out two overall targets to support all cohorts of society to benefit from digital transition. The targets also seek to address skills challenges that are being faced and will be faced by workforces in the face of automation risks and emerging technologies, including Al. Senators Boyhan, Sherlock and Cassells referred to that. Work continues to focus on digital skills provision, the identification of potential digital skills gaps and future skills needs, and progressing the digital strategy for schools and the adult literacy for life strategy. The OECD review of Ireland's skills strategy for 2022 addresses the challenges for our society in regard to sustainable skills development in the face of digital transition and emerging megatrends, including artificial intelligence.

Regulation is and will continue to be a significant part of our approach. Influencing the regulation of Al in Ireland and internationally, including, in particular, the development of the EU AI Act, is one of my priorities. I assure Senator Sherlock that we are not sitting back and waiting for it to happen; we are part of making it happen. I am slightly confused by Senator Craughwell's approach. He stated that countries and governments are one step behind companies and, therefore, we should not regulate. If we do not regulate, however, we will be 101 steps behind companies. Now is the time to regulate and put the guardrails in place. That is relevant to some of the issues referred to by Senator Byrne.

The EU AI Act sets out harmonised rules for the development, placement on the market and use of artificial intelligence systems in the Union. The proposed regulation aims to ensure the protection of fundamental rights and user safety and to develop trust in the development and uptake of Al, thereby enhancing EU investment and, crucially, EU innovation. The trilogue negotiations commenced in June this year. There are a number of complex technical and political points that are currently being negotiated. I acknowledge the huge work my officials are putting into these negotiations. Progress is being made and the regulation is expected to be agreed, at the very latest, in spring 2024. Following that, it is expected that the application of the regulation will be by way of a phased approach that will commence 18 months after its entry into force. The operational and practical impacts of the regulation will depend on the final outcome of the negotiations. My officials are currently monitoring developments with a view to drafting a regulatory impact assessment of the implementation and enforcement framework for the Act, to ensure the forthcoming regulation will be implemented coherently, with functions being assigned to appropriate bodies.

Of course, the EU is not the only international forum in which Al is currently being considered. As Senator Byrne acknowledged, I attended the Al Safety Summit 2023, which took place in Bletchley Park, London, on 1 and 2 November, on the invitation of the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan. Ireland was one of only six EU countries invited to take part. All countries attending the summit agreed to the Bletchley declaration on Al safety, which recognises a shared consensus on the opportunities and risks of particular uses of Al and the need for collaborative action on frontier Al safety.

Ireland's engagement on Al development, in particular in negotiating the EU AI Act but also in other international forums looking at Al governance, emphasises the importance of ethical, person-centred development and deployment of Al and promotes an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach. The more stakeholders that are engaged, the better, more rounded and more realistic our negotiations. During the summit, I participated in a number of discussions involving representatives from across sectors, which reflected the urgent need for a shared international understanding. I participated in a roundtable discussion on the risks from the integration of frontier Al into society. I also participated in a discussion focused on the theme of what the international community should do regarding the risks and opportunities of Al. In that session, we discussed where international collaboration is needed both to manage risks and also to realise opportunities from frontier Al, including areas for international research collaborations. The summit provided the opportunity for informal engagements across all of the sectors whose active participation will be required for both the economy and society to realise fully the enormous opportunities that present, but also to mitigate the risks presented by deployment of Al. The participants included representatives of governments, non-governmental organisations, industry, academia and civil society.Ireland joined the Global Partnership on Al, as has been referred by Senator Joe O'Reilly, in November 2021. The GPAI is built around a shared commitment to the OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence. The GPAI brings together engaged expertise from science, industry, civil society, governments, international organisations and academia. Ireland has nominated three Al experts to participate in research work being undertaken by GPAI.

My officials, as has been referred to by the leader of the delegation, Senator O'Loughlin, and I acknowledge her work along with that of Senators O'Reilly and Boylan on the Council of Europe, are actively involved in negotiations on the council's legal convention on Al. Ireland supports the balanced approach being taken by the committee of the Council of Europe on Al, which is based on human rights, democracy and rule of law, and it strives to ensure ethical and trustworthy Al where the rights and safety of the individual are protected while remaining conducive to responsible innovation. I understand that the convention is expected to be finalised in March 2024 and adopted in May 2024. It will then be open to both members and non-members of the Council of Europe to ratify the convention and adopt it at a national level. Collectively, all of these guardrails are designed to ensure that there is trust in Al which, in turn, will support ongoing, responsible and ambitious innovation in the AI area.

A number of Senators have expressed concern and are right to do so about electoral integrity. In 2024, more than 2 billion voters across 50 countries, including the United States, the European Union and India will head to the polls. We have seen in other jurisdictions that democracy is under threat, not from the technology but from malicious actors who misuse it. We must do everything we can to protect and preserve our electoral integrity in Ireland. The experience of Senator Cassells and other election monitors is useful in this regard.

As Senators will know, the Electoral Commission has been established and is now operational. The Electoral Commission will also promote public awareness of misinformation, disinformation and manipulative or inauthentic behaviour. It will also establish educational and information programmes to help address this issue. I have met with the head of the Electoral Commission to discuss AI and I am satisfied that he is engaged in this space. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is committed to putting in place a robust regime to provide for transparency in political advertising and protect our elections against malign or hidden influence. While not yet commenced, Parts 4 and 5 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 provide for these matters. Part 4 provides a regulatory framework to ensure there is transparency in respect of online political advertisements, which are purchased for placement, display, promotion or dissemination during electoral periods. Part 5 provides An Coimisiún Toghcháin with monitoring and investigatory functions to prevent the following: the dissemination of disinformation relating to online electoral information; misinformation relating to online electoral process information; and the use of manipulative or inauthentic behaviours online during electoral campaigns.

I am conscious that speed will be of the essence during election campaigns. This is an issue that I have discussed with the head of An Coimisiún Toghcháin and I know that it is an issue the commission has taken on board. Even in advance of AI we all know that deep fakes are in operation during political campaigns and, indeed, online political campaigns. An Coimisiún is engaging with actors both

internationally and in Ireland on effective and best practice tools to counter misinformation. I encourage Senators with experience of this to engage directly with the commission.

AI is a hugely important area. To support the national AI strategy I am establishing an Al advisory council. The council's role will be to provide independent expert advice to Government on artificial intelligence policy, with a specific focus on building public trust and, accordingly, promoting the development of person-centred Al. Its first role will be to provide expert guidance, insights and recommendations in response to specific requests from Government. Its second role will be to develop and deliver its own work plan of advice to Government on issues in artificial intelligence policy, and provide insights on trends, opportunities and challenges. Its third role will be to engage in public communications aimed at demystifying and promoting trustworthy, ethical and person-centred Al and that will involved a public awareness campaign of AI during 2024.

I thank Senator Byrne for tabling this motion. I wish to conclude by noting that Al technologies will impact all parts of society and the economy, not just in enterprise but, equally, in health, housing, agriculture, defence and right across this sphere. AI will change employment patterns but we also need to be ambitious in how we engage with the technology. More detailed awareness of the risks of AI is required and more detailed and understanding of the opportunities across all stakeholders.

It is important to be mindful that while Al is a pressing focus tonight and, indeed, right nowthere are a range of other technologies like quantum computing and biotechnologies that will have similarly transformative impacts on our world. All of us, in both Houses, must be ready to inform, education and challenge ourselves on the technological changes that are under way. We must also strive to communicate not only the risks but the opportunities of these technologies to the public. Our leadership on this will set Ireland up to make sure the values that this Republic holds dear are preserved and protected while adapting to and harnessing the technological changes that are happening before our eyes and will happen for the common good of our citizens.