Government seeks suitably qualified people for new AI advisory council

Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary, has called for people from academia, business, law, security, social sciences, economics, and civil society to advise on AI policy. File photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

The government is looking for suitably qualified people to join a new Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council.

Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary, has called for people from academia, business, law, security, social sciences, economics, and civil society to advise on AI policy.

The council will provide independent expert advice to the Government with a specific focus on building public trust and promoting the development of trustworthy, person-centred AI, a statement from the department said.

A new progress report, published on Wednesday, on the implementation of the National AI Strategy “AI — Here for Good” identifies a number of specific priorities for the coming year. These include:

• Influencing the regulation of AI in Ireland and internationally, in particular, the development of the EU AI Act.
• Supporting businesses, enterprise, and workers on AI adoption as well as upskilling, reskilling and adapting, including through the AI Innovation Hub.
• Finalising and implementing the principles and guidelines for the use of AI in the public sector.
• Considering what additional supports may be needed for the AI sector and businesses adopting AI in Ireland.

“As a small, open economy, international developments in this space are important,” Mr Calleary said.

“Ireland’s approach to AI, one that is human-centred, ethical, and trust-based, underpins our engagement in national and international fora, particularly as development of the EU AI Act enters the next phase. We are actively promoting a robust governance framework to safeguard against risk and ensure public trust in AI.” 

Opinions on AI

Meanwhile, researchers at University College Cork and Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, are asking the public to take part in a 10-minute anonymised online survey about peoples’ hopes and fears for AI and software in general.

Psychologist Dr Sarah Robinson, a senior postdoctoral researcher with Lero, said that the AI debate has been dominated by experts' voices with very little discourse on the public's concerns and priorities.

"My hope is that we can begin to understand what the public is thinking and facilitate a conversation between the public and software engineers on how the technology is shaping our lives. There are positives and there is a darker side. We have a responsibility as citizens to have our voices heard.

“As the experts debate, little attention is given to what the public thinks. Some AI experts express concern that others prioritise imagined apocalyptic scenarios over immediate concerns — such as racist and sexist biases being programmed into machines."

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Dr Robinson said that, for example, human rights abuses are happening through AI and facial recognition software.

“Research by my Lero colleague Dr Abeba Birhane and others found that data used to train some AI is contaminated with racist and misogynist language. As AI becomes widespread, the use of biased data may lead to harm and further marginalisation for already marginalised groups.

“While there is a lot in the media about AI, especially ChatGPT, and what kind of world it is creating, there is less information about how the public perceives the software all around us, from social media to streaming services and beyond. We are interested in understanding the public’s point of view.