Government not taking AI threat seriously, says Gibney

Social Democrats TD Sineád Gibney has said that the government are not taking the threat posed by AI.

Gibney, the party spokesperson on Enterprise and a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence, asserted that the government has chosen to only prepare for the potential benefits of its use.

The Dublin Rathdown TD said “while establishing an AI office is a step in the right direction, it’s concerning to see a persistent narrative from this government on AI which only has time for innovation and advantages for business.”

Gibney said she has raised concerns about AI’s potential impact on the likes of misinformation, climate as well as the negative impacts the tools can have on ordinary people.

She said that each time she has raised those concerns with members of the government parties, the response was that they did not want to stifle innovation.

“It’s important to support businesses as they deal with the impacts of AI, but the balance of priorities between business and wider society appears to be completely skewed by this government,” Gibney said.

“How can we address the impact of AI on children, on jobs, on how ordinary citizens use technology, on the environment, when these issues are being left out of our discourse and agendas?”

She said, “it is welcome to have an authority responsible for coordinating the AI act, but the work of regulating the use of AI across the state needs to be adequately funded in each of the competent authorities.”

“This new office must be properly resourced to address labour displacement, energy issues, and the social impacts of AI use – currently, the biggest commitment I’ve been able to get from the department on addressing the labour market impact of AI has been to consider setting up an observatory to track the data, which has yet to happen.

“There’s been no commitment to addressing these threats, which is a real cause for concern when people’s livelihoods are at stake.”