Deepfakes pose risks to society and democracy, says Taoiseach

Prior to the recent elections, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh warned over the potential threat of deepfake explicit images being used against female politicians

Taoiseach Simon Harris admitted that it was a concern that an AI version of his likeness could be used to spread disinformation on social media platforms.

Deepfake audio and videos of politicians are a risk to both society and democracy, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.

Mr Harris admitted that it was a concern that an AI version of his likeness could be used to spread disinformation on social media platforms. There have been rapid advancements in the use of AI to generate images, video and audio, with tools becoming more available.

Asked directly if he was worried about the potential impact of his voice being used to spread disinformation, Mr Harris said that it wasn’t something he had considered closely but it would be a concern.

“I think it’s a concern in general for society and democracy in Ireland, and indeed across Europe and globally,” the Taoiseach said. “We have seen a number of attempts in a number of jurisdictions, indeed we’ve seen some in our own with other prominent politicians."

He referenced a number of initiatives carried out by the Government and EU to deal with deepfake AI, citing both the Digital Services Act and Coimisiún na Mean.

“I think it’s really vital that they move with haste in terms of taking various actions around regulations and rules and frameworks — putting frameworks in place where there can be real financial consequences where a social media platform doesn’t comply or comply quickly with rules and guidelines in relation to that,” Mr Harris said.

“I think we have a number of tools in place, but we’d be foolish not to think that this is a real challenge and a real risk that all democracies face.”

Prior to the local and European elections, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh warned over the potential threat of deepfake explicit images being used against female politicians, describing the prospect as “terrifying”.

British-Irish Council

Mr Harris was speaking following a meeting of the British-Irish Council on the Isle of Man, where he met with representatives from the UK Government, alongside Scottish First Minister John Swinney.

Following the meeting, Mr Harris called on his UK counterpart to consider attending the bi-annual summit more often, due to the few opportunities for Taoisigh and British Prime Ministers to engage following Brexit.

“I think it merits consideration as to how we ensure that there are plenty of structures in place for that regular dialogue between the British Prime Minister of the day and the Irish Taoiseach of the day," he said.

The Taoiseach’s comments were echoed by outgoing Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris, who said that he regularly recommends UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to attend the summits.

“I do recommend, on a regular basis, that if at all possible, this should be part of the calendar for any British Prime Minister,” Mr Heaton-Harris said.

It comes as Mr Sunak looks set to lose his upcoming re-election bid to Labour’s Keir Starmer, who is odds-on to be the next UK Prime Minister after polling day on July 4.

Mr Harris said that he does hope to have an early engagement with the new British Prime Minister at the upcoming meeting of the European Political Community in July.