86 Final Project

Artificial Intelligence in Ireland 

Artificial Intelligence is a new technology that can significantly change our society’s functions. Everyone has seen it in some form. At this point, it has integrated itself into our daily lives. Think of Siri on the iPhone or the Alexa that can control a house’s lighting and temperature setting. The question is: how much should we let it control us? Ireland has been grappling with the issue of transparency while developing the laws and regulations behind A.I. Also, when Artificial Intelligence becomes available, many citizens are worried they will not be able to access it. Ireland’s A.I. journey is one of trials and tribulations that do not end once the technology has arrived.

Maria Murphy’s article “Will we have a Say in Ireland’s artificial intelligence strategy?” raises a vital issue with the accessibility of A.I. to the people of Ireland. Ireland’s communication throughout the strategy plan’s drafting needs to be improved. Typically, countries publish drafts to give the public an idea of their thoughts, but Ireland has only published the expected time frame when the actual strategic plan will come out. This restricts people from having some opinion on the project until it comes out. “An Irish resident should not need to resort to a Freedom of Information request to obtain the type of information that is widely available to the public in other countries.” (Murphy, Will we have a say in Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy? 2021). She mentions that knowing the process behind Artificial Intelligence is essential. After all, people use Siri and Alexa daily, but only a few understand how they work.

Another article by Colm McDonald discusses risk management for A.I. across multiple sectors of the economy. The report, “A.I. and Risk Management in Ireland”, mainly focuses on the financial services industry. The financial sector has struggled using the A.I. platforms that they adopted because of the limited availability of plentiful, accurate data and the need for knowledge of the risks of A.I. The widespread A.I. platforms aimed to give customers a more personalized customer experience. McDonald says it is possible to implement this technology someday. It may take some work. “In response to these challenges, it is possible to begin negotiating them through an embedded risk management framework for A.I.” (McDonald Colm, Ai and Risk Management in Ireland 2018). Assessing the Rick Management Life Cycle (RMLC) is crucial before addressing any of the actual risks. The four stages are identifying, assessing, controlling, monitoring, and reporting. To tackle the threat, the business has first to identify the risk. Next, the company must determine the severity of the risk and how it will affect every part of the organization. The organization should watch how the A.I. interacts with potential customers and where the touch points of the system are. There should be consistent monitoring and testing of the interactions throughout the use of the system. This precursor is necessary to put in the actual plan to help mitigate the risks of A.I. (McDonald Colm, Ai and Risk Management in Ireland 2018).

What exactly are regulators going to require of the Artificial Systems? A lot. For starters, it has to be up to par with government regulations. This can be tackled by training the members of the government committee about the risk associated with the A.I. system. Keeping track of all procedures that happen with the system also allows for the Government to keep tabs on all of the issues that are occurring with the system and if it should still be in place. Finally, it has to have a manual switch off or ‘kill switch” to stop the system entirely in case any suspicious behavior is detected. It must also comply with any General Data Protection Regulation and e-Privacy regulation. This allows the people of Ireland to keep their data and not have it sent to anyone. If data is leaked, the company will be held accountable for the malfunction in the algorithm (McDonald Colm, Ai and Risk Management in Ireland 2018).

Many companies are tackling the difficult task of balancing encouraging technological innovation and protecting customers, marketing integrity, and financial stability (McDonald Colm, Ai and Risk Management in Ireland 2018). It is not easy because of how rapidly this technology is growing. With the rapid development of this technology, new regulations also arise. McDonald emphasizes how vital the acknowledgment of international policies and ethics is for the growth of A.I. “Both regulators and industry must work together in designing the appropriate policies to contribute to cross-border and cross-sectoral concerns of Irish societal and ethical implications of large-scale implementation of A.I.” (McDonald Colm, Ai and Risk Management in Ireland 2018). This will help grow the technology while respecting privacy and any other concerns. Using these steps will help A.I. to grow in many countries. In Ireland, the strategy for the future of Artificial Intelligence was finally published for the public to see.

The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland was implemented in July 2021. The strategy goes through how Artificial Intelligence will help benefit and be put to use in multiple sectors of Ireland’s functions and how Ireland can become an international leader in using A.I. The first part is how they will gain the public’s trust in A.I. The Government recognizes that it needs to establish a good connection between Artificial Intelligence and its people. The Irish Government plans to frame A.I. as a benefit to society by appointing an ambassador strictly for A.I. who will go out into the community and help teach the organization the benefits of the technology. This includes discussing the technology with younger generations to get them accustomed to it and make it seem less daunting. The Government will promote educational courses for the general public to educate them on A.I. and include A.I. in the societal Good Challenge Funds. This fund helps develop new research projects for intelligent and sustainable cities, agriculture, etc. The last way they plan to gain the public’s trust is by including opportunities for the system in climate action as a part of future climate policies. Ireland is trying to have zero-net carbon emissions by 2050 (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

The Government plans to prove to the people that technology has multiple benefits. The report includes small sections describing the benefits in different areas of society, such as health, environment, and social inclusion. Artificial Intelligence could be used to reduce energy usage and provide real-time risk management to prevent other environmental disasters. The report includes a case study to back up its claims. A.I. could benefit healthcare by improving patient experiences to more accurate patient interventions. It has been used to develop vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology can also be used for social inclusion by offering more opportunities to improve access to educational resources for people with disabilities and special needs (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

To have a successful Artificial Intelligence system, the Irish Government plans to develop an ecosystem that will allow the system to thrive. The Government’s legislation already provides for the smooth development of A.I., but a few issues within the European Union (E.U.) have yet to be developed. Ireland plans to continue to be active in discussions to define the regulations for the technology. The E.U. has developed Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy A.I., which will help support society’s ethical values and protect human rights. This will help people to trust the technology more, knowing that their data is safe (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

In the E.U.’s plan, a risk-based approach to regulation will help build trust in the system. “The proposed new rules are designed to be proportionate and flexible, following a risk-based approach to address the specific challenges posed by different categories and applications of A.I. systems (classified as an unacceptable risk; high-risk; limited risk, and minimal risk)” (strategy). Technology constantly changes; therefore, flexibility and experimentation must be utilized for the best result possible. The report provides evidence about the Ethical discussion on A.I. through a group-set list of guidelines that provide a framework for what the technology should be mindful of (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

The second portion of the plan describes how the Government will prove to the people that Artificial Intelligence will help benefit Ireland economically and societally. A.I. is already integrated into multiple industries in Ireland, such as finance, agriculture, and engineering. The goal is to help improve these systems and encourage more interaction between research and industry. Most Irish businesses use the technology to better understand their customers’ wants and needs and improve manufacturing processes, supply chain management, and risk management. Ireland has many global ICT businesses that use a significant amount of A.I. with their headquarters in Ireland. Partnering with this industry would allow smaller businesses and Irish companies to gain intelligence about the technology. The Government has rolled out digital innovation hubs that will enable people to grow their skills and get advice on different technology areas. Then the consumers can return this intelligence to their companies and implement it (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

The plan also goes into the effects of A.I. in everyday life. For example, an E.U. project throughout Dublin used cyclists to help improve the cycling infrastructure between Antwerp and Manchester. There was a device on each of the bikes that allowed the researchers to evaluate the roads and determine which one needed improvement. A.I. is also being used to translate the Irish language into different spoken or written dialects. Administrations worldwide are exploring how A.I. can be integrated into the justice system. “Automated decision-support tools can yield increased fairness and efficiency for judicial systems” (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021). There are concerns about the ethics behind these cases, but the Council of Europe developed an Ethical Charter on using A.I. in judicial systems and their environment. This states that A.I. can be implemented for lower-risk areas of the law. The climate-generated data from the A.I. systems can help farmers prepare for the type of crop they may have that year. A.I. can also help in everyday farming technologies such as ensuring animal welfare, breeding, and harvesting crops (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

The final part of the plan goes into great detail about how Ireland will enable Artificial Intelligence. The first way they would like to allow the technology is through the research and development sector. The A.I. would make it easier to test experiments in natural world environments and keep other researchers in other countries up to date with the investigation. The plan also mentions how technology will create new jobs. They want to prepare the new generations by teaching the kids in school about Artificial Intelligence. This will also appeal to other people from around the world to come and help develop this new A.I. talent. The goal is also to improve the gender balance in A.I. careers (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

While Artificial Intelligence comes with a lot of benefits, it also comes with a lot of downfalls. The strategy addresses these risks in multiple sections of the report. For example, new developments in technology could result in new forms of inequality. This could be from biased training data or a personal, opinionated design of algorithms. Either way, the potential for discrimination is relevant. The Government is planning to be very transparent with the reasoning why the system is causing problems. There are also privacy concerns with the new technology as well as job displacement from the latest technology. However, the report addresses solutions to each of these issues and more (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment , AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland 2021).

Since implementing this strategy in 2021, Ireland has become a leader in Artificial Intelligence. The gender gap has decreased with more women enrolling in A.I. educational programs. (O’Brien C., Irish business use of AI to ‘increase significantly’ 2021). Job growth in the industry is expected to skyrocket immensely. Ann’s article from Enterprise Ireland states that Ireland is now number one in Europe for Artificial Intelligence, mainly through their research and development activities. ‘”Now we are also seeing deep-tech extending rapidly into other areas such as healthcare and life sciences, agriculture and manufacturing,’ says Durcan.” (Mullen, Enterprise ireland “Ireland is number 1 in Europe for AI” 2021). This progression of the Artificial Intelligence industry in Ireland has been incredible. The Government plans to continue the training to more companies to make Ireland rich with knowledge about Artificial Intelligence.

Works Cited

Ireland is number 1 in Europe for AI. The Irish Advantage. (2021, May 21). Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://irishadvantage.com/ireland-is-number-1-in-europe-for-ai

O’Brien, C. (2021, February 15). Irish business use of AI to ‘increase significantly’. The Irish Times. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/irish-business-use-of-ai-to-increase-significantly-1.4484710

McDonald Colm McDonnell Partner | Risk Advisory cmcdonnell@deloitte.ie +353 1 , C. (2018, May 4). Ai and Risk Management in Ireland. Deloitte Ireland. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://www2.deloitte.com/ie/en/pages/risk/articles/_ai-and-risk-management-in-ireland.html

Mullen, J. (2021, May 31). Enterprise ireland “Ireland is number 1 in Europe for AI”. Council.ie. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://council.ie/enterprise-ireland-ireland-is-number-1-in-europe-for-ai/

Murphy, M. (2021, February 18). Will we have a say in Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy? RTE.ie. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0218/1197882-ireland-artificial-intelligence-strategy-ai/

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. (2021, July 18). AI – Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland . gov.ie. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.gov.ie%2F215889%2F627544be-1d4d-4459-8df8-b7c6b2b15aa5.pdf#page=null

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. (2021, July 18). AI- Here For Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland – Executive Summary . gov.ie. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.gov.ie%2F198285%2Ffd96b2e1-54b9-4e74-b0b8-5c5ca18386e4.pdf#page=null