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Irish Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How many regulators does it take to completely stifle Ireland's AI innovation?
Much of the talk at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence meeting on Tuesday centred on finding the balance between controlling the risks and harnessing the potential of AI within Ireland's regulatory framework. 'We can't afford to stand still,' Patricia Scanlon of the AI Advisory Council told members of the Oireachtas, going on to repeatedly stress the importance of 'implementing serious regulatory reforms' and avoiding having a 'fragmented response' to AI. The regulatory response to this new technology is critical, the Oireachtas repeatedly heard. In Leinster House, a building in which phrases such as 'joined-up thinking' and 'co-ordinated response' echo around the halls, it was notable to hear the experts say there are eight separate regulatory bodies over AI in Ireland. READ MORE Based on work by the Department of Enterprise on the rollout of the EU-wide Artificial Intelligence Act, there will be a 'complex' web of 'cross-sectoral regulation' due to how vast an area the regulation will cover. 'There are actually going to be eight competent authorities or regulators under the Act,' Prof Deirdre Aherne, law professor at Trinity College Dublin and a member of the AI Advisory Council, told the committee. Fear not, however, that there may be too many cooks. These regulatory bodies will also co-ordinate with other bodies that have sectoral expertise. Added on top of that 'distributed' regulatory model, the committee heard, will be a 'co-ordinating body' that will look to manage the overlaps between the bodies. Ireland's regulatory framework will then feed into an EU-wide approach to the new technology's adoption. Furthermore, in its recent paper on digital innovation, the business lobbying group Ibec identified 'at least 30 different State entities and 10 plans that can influence the direction of Ireland's digital and AI ambitions'. It noted one Cabinet committee, six departments, three Oireachtas committees, 10 departmental plans and 20 agencies that have various responsibilities related to implementing different aspects of the EU digital rule book. It all begs the question: will eight separate regulators, 30 State agencies and 10 plans be enough to stifle Ireland's AI innovation? Perhaps the State's response to AI needs more joined-up thinking at the helm, more opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration and synergistic thinking, and maybe even one more regulatory body.
Irish Examiner
25-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Software engineers and customer service agents will be first to lose jobs to AI, Oireachtas to hear
Software engineers, junior lawyers, and customer service roles will be among the first in Ireland to be affected by job losses to artificial intelligence, experts on the AI Advisory Council predict. Members of the council, made up of 15 independent experts who advise the Government on Ireland's AI strategy, appeared before the Oireachtas AI Committee on Tuesday. It heard the even moderate workforce reductions could collectively lead to "noticeable increases" in unemployment. "We cannot predict the exact pace, scale, or whether new jobs will replace those lost," AI Advisory Council chairwoman Patricia Scanlon said. When asked if he could predict what would be the first jobs to be hit in Ireland, council member and Jentic founder and CEO Sean Blanchfield said he believed it would be in software engineering, 'ironically enough'. 'Naturally enough, people in my industry are taking this technology and applying it to the first market they know, which is themselves.' 'That's real, and that's current." Entry level programming jobs are largely being replaced by AI now, he added. Certainly, among the leading companies. The job of the software engineers has moved up to more software 'architect'. I think if you speak to lawyers, you find the same things happening in law firms. Those are two obvious examples. The quality of AI technology is improving 'month after month', he added. 'Palpably. We can see it in our own company.' "These are intense, information-work jobs. If it's possible to automate the work of a software developer or a junior lawyer, you can automate a lot of things. ' Customer service would be another example of this, he added. Professor Deirdre Ahern, member of the AI council and professor in law at Trinity College Dublin, cautioned that cuts to junior roles due to AI could have further impacts. 'We mightn't have as many but we still need people who are able to interrogate outputs, etc. It's not that the jobs are gone, but it's just maybe there may be less of them.' Fine Gael TD Keira Keogh said it was interesting to hear members of the council say we can't predict the next five years. Five years ago, when we were talking about AI and robots, we didn't predict it was going to be the highly educated engineers that would be losing jobs first. Bronagh Riordan of EY, who chairs CeADAR, Ireland's national AI centre, added there is another side to this, as AI also free up time through automation. One example of this is healthcare, she said. 'You can automate repetitive tasks, and you can free up more of the time for healthcare experts to help our society.' Ms Scanlon told the committee Ireland is at a 'critical juncture' when it comes to AI. 'The choices we make now determine whether we shape this future or are shaped by it.' She also called for an 'AI Observatory', a national system tracking real-time impacts on jobs and skills as they happen. "Without it, we're navigating tomorrow's changes with yesterday's map."
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
AI involves ‘arms race betweeen nations' with ‘no easy option for Ireland', committee hears
Artificial Intelligence involves an 'arms race between nations' in which there are 'no easy options' for Ireland, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Members of the Government-appointed AI Advisory Council, a voluntary body that includes academics, business people and others with expertise in the field told politicians there are potential costs associated with Ireland seeking to be an international leader in the rapidly emerging field, including the area of energy and climate. They said these needed to be weighed against potential future losses to the State if it is left behind by international rivals, however, at a time when Government revenues may need to be maximised to deal with a significant number of people whose jobs are made redundant by the technology. Asked about how a decision to limit the number of data centres built in Ireland in the future or decisions to prevent future developments might impact on Ireland's ability to benefit from AI developments, the chief executive of a firm called Jentic said a key challenge for Ireland is to accelerate its development of renewable energy generation. READ MORE 'If we want to participate in the supply chain of the future at that level, we need to figure out our energy,' Sean Blanchfield told members of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence. 'I don't think the data centres will be the controversial part if we have an abundance of energy, but I think we already have reached the end of our line in terms of how many data centres we as an economy are willing to build based on fossil fuels. 'So the question is really, what can we do to fix our energy infrastructure so that we can potentially participate in the future economy by helping run the AI and thereby sustain some kind of tax base in the future when we might very sorely need it after it displaces some labour.' The AI Advisory Council members, including its chair, Dr Patricia Scanlon, said new technologies will present enormous opportunities for society and individuals in areas like education and healthcare, but it is impossible to estimate how many jobs might be created. Mr Blanchfield said some job losses are already apparent. 'I think there's potential for massive economic disruption from AI,' he said. Data centre development was a potential positive, he suggested, if Ireland can address the energy issue 'because we have excelled at hosting data centres up until recently relative to our size. So we have the established expertise to do that.' But pressed on when the negative impact of AI on the employment landscape might start to be felt, he said the process was already under way. 'People in my industry are taking this technology and applying it to the first market they know, which is themselves. That's real, that's current,' he said. 'Entry-level programming jobs are largely replaced by AI now, certainly among the leading companies, and the job of the software engineers has moved up to more software architecture. I think if you speak to many lawyers, you find the same things happening in law firms.' With the technology advancing on a continuous basis, he suggested: 'If it's possible to automate the work of a software developer or a junior lawyer, you can automate a lot of things. It's just a question of repackaging that technology in due course. I think another one would be the customer service.' Ms Scanlon told the committee difficult choices would have to be made and she was 'not an AI advocate at all costs'. But asked the question what the cost to the country would have been of failing to engage with the development of the internet, she said, 'I think we need to invest resources'. 'We need task forces, we need experts, we need to collaborate with our European colleagues to solve this in a way that means Europe, Ireland, don't lose out or fall behind or become beholden to the US or Chinese governments, that we're not taking other people's AI because they didn't slow down. It's not easy, but it's a balancing act we have to face up to.'
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
AI involves ‘arms race betweeen nations' with ‘no easy option for Ireland', committe hears
Artificial Intelligence involves an 'arms race between nations' in which there are 'no easy options' for Ireland, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Members of the Government-appointed AI Advisory Council, a voluntary body that includes academics, business people and others with expertise in the field told politicians there are potential costs associated with Ireland seeking to be an international leader in the rapidly emerging field, including the area of energy and climate. They said these needed to be weighed against potential future losses to the State if it is left behind by international rivals, however, at a time when Government revenues may need to be maximised to deal with a significant number of people whose jobs are made redundant by the technology. Asked about how a decision to limit the number of data centres built in Ireland in the future or decisions to prevent future developments might impact on Ireland's ability to benefit from AI developments, the chief executive of a firm called Jentic said a key challenge for Ireland is to accelerate its development of renewable energy generation. READ MORE 'If we want to participate in the supply chain of the future at that level, we need to figure out our energy,' Sean Blanchfield told members of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence. 'I don't think the data centres will be the controversial part if we have an abundance of energy, but I think we already have reached the end of our line in terms of how many data centres we as an economy are willing to build based on fossil fuels. 'So the question is really, what can we do to fix our energy infrastructure so that we can potentially participate in the future economy by helping run the AI and thereby sustain some kind of tax base in the future when we might very sorely need it after it displaces some labour.' The AI Advisory Council members, including its chair, Dr Patricia Scanlon, said new technologies will present enormous opportunities for society and individuals in areas like education and healthcare, but it is impossible to estimate how many jobs might be created. Mr Blanchfield said some job losses are already apparent. 'I think there's potential for massive economic disruption from AI,' he said. Data centre development was a potential positive, he suggested, if Ireland can address the energy issue 'because we have excelled at hosting data centres up until recently relative to our size. So we have the established expertise to do that.' But pressed on when the negative impact of AI on the employment landscape might start to be felt, he said the process was already under way. 'People in my industry are taking this technology and applying it to the first market they know, which is themselves. That's real, that's current,' he said. 'Entry-level programming jobs are largely replaced by AI now, certainly among the leading companies, and the job of the software engineers has moved up to more software architecture. I think if you speak to many lawyers, you find the same things happening in law firms.' With the technology advancing on a continuous basis, he suggested: 'If it's possible to automate the work of a software developer or a junior lawyer, you can automate a lot of things. It's just a question of repackaging that technology in due course. I think another one would be the customer service.' Ms Scanlon told the committee difficult choices would have to be made and she was 'not an AI advocate at all costs'. But asked the question what the cost to the country would have been of failing to engage with the development of the internet, she said, 'I think we need to invest resources'. 'We need task forces, we need experts, we need to collaborate with our European colleagues to solve this in a way that means Europe, Ireland, don't lose out or fall behind or become beholden to the US or Chinese governments, that we're not taking other people's AI because they didn't slow down. It's not easy, but it's a balancing act we have to face up to.'
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Ireland must act quickly or lose chance to be leading player in AI, committee will hear
Ireland cannot afford to sit still and be left behind in artificial intelligence development, the chair of the new advisory council on the technology has said. In a stark warning about the need to engage quickly with AI, Dr Patricia Scanlon , chair of the AI Advisory Council, has said Ireland needs urgent action across government to deal with the opportunities and risks. Dr Scanlon's opening statement for a hearing of the Joint Committee on AI outlines the challenge ahead: 'Other countries are racing to become AI hubs. We need targeted action to stay competitive. [ AI avisory group warns of potential for mass surveillance Opens in new window ] 'Ireland can become Europe's preferred AI base, but only if we fundamentally change our approach to regulation and implementation. Tweaking won't work.' READ MORE Dr Scanlon is a leading expert with a PHD in AI. She is the founder and first chief executive of Soapbox, a global leader in voice AI for children. Her statement to the committee emphasised the need for early action in that is fundamentally transforming work, learning, innovation and the functioning of society. 'This won't be easy or cheap, but needs immediate commitment to address critical priorities,' she said. 'Half-measures and incremental changes will leave Ireland behind. We need transformational investment and policy change now. 'Ireland's window to lead this transformation rather than be shaped by it is rapidly closing. The decisions we make in the coming months will be critical,' she said. [ Why Greeks are in pole position when it comes to artificial intelligence Opens in new window ] Ms Scanlon outlined the upside and downside risks, both of which are immediate. The negative aspects include the erosion of privacy, job displacement, misinformation and negative impacts on safety and human dignity. However, she said, the second risk is inaction, which would have a detrimental impact on competitiveness, investment, healthcare and education. 'Let me be direct. Ireland's past successes in technology don't guarantee future success,' said Dr Scanlon. The AI Advisory Council consists of 15 independent experts advising the Government on harnessing AI, protecting rights and building public trust. Dr Scanlon and her colleagues from the council will introduce the nature of their work to members of the committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne , on Tuesday. The critical priorities identified include serious regulatory reforms, establishing an AI observatory to track real-time impacts on jobs and skills, and supporting national AI literacy that spans education and workplace settings. Ireland already has strong foundations including good levels of education, robust research and a culture of energetic start-ups, she said. 'However, other countries are racing to become AI hubs. We need targeted action to stay competitive. Ireland can become Europe's preferred AI base, but only if we fundamentally change our approach to regulation and implementation. 'Tweaking won't work. We need new regulatory capacity that's well-resourced and works quickly across sectors ... Regulation alone isn't enough. Investment must match the pace of AI. 'This isn't just about attracting business. Government must ensure AI delivers real benefits for society.' [ Artificial intelligence already in use in many parts of public service as guidelines are announced Opens in new window ] Elsewhere, Dr Scanlon refers to the current limitations of the energy grid which have slowed the expansion of data centres – an area in need of significant investment in renewable energy, smart grid technology, and infrastructure. She also highlights the risk of AI replacing work previously done by humans. 'Even moderate job losses across multiple sectors could increase unemployment,' she says. 'We cannot predict the pace or scale, or if lost jobs will be replaced. We cannot be reactive. Ireland needs an AI observatory, a national system tracking real-time impacts on jobs and skills as they happen. Without it we're navigating tomorrow's changes with yesterday's map.' Dr Scanlon has also emphasised the need for AI literacy across the Irish education system.
