Government “sleepwalking” into AI age, warns Gibney

Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney has said the government are “sleepwalking” into the AI age.

New research from the ERSI found that one in 14 Irish jobs could be replaced by AI in the coming years.

Gibney, who sits on the Oireachtas AI Committee, said that AI presents a “fundamental societal challenge” that the government are not prepared to meet.

The Dublin Rathdown TD said, “the government is completely unprepared for the threats AI presents for employment in Ireland and must immediately develop a roadmap to face its challenges head-on.”

The ERSI report noted, “we find an average decline in household disposable income as a result of AI adoption.”

Gibney said the report backed up what she already knew.

“We are facing a fundamental societal challenge from the labour displacement that Artificial Intelligence will cause. The ERSI’s report by the has set in stone what we’ve already known for some time now,” she said.

“When those of us on the Oireachtas AI Committee have raised concerns about AI, we’ve been given flimsy answers by government officials, always pointing to the business potential of AI, never addressing the concrete threat it presents for our workforce.”

Gibney said, “it seems to me that no preparatory work has been conducted by the government to prepare us for this seismic change in how we work, running the risk of mass unemployment across multiple sectors; this is irresponsible and illustrates a fundamental lack of understanding about how organisations and enterprises are planning for the future.”

The Soc Dems TD conceded that AI can be an “effective tool to boost productivity and complete menial tasks that humans are not required to do” but she said the technology comes at a cost.

“These benefits will only be reaped by corporations if we’re not careful,” she said.

“Without a plan, the benefits of AI will only make the richest richer, leaving low- and middle-income earners out of work.”

“When we have faced industrial revolutions old and new, those in control of the means of production have always used technological advancements to bolster their profit margins, not to improve the quality of life of their staff and the country they operate in.”

Gibney said, “with the advent of AI, it is naive to believe that companies will now behave otherwise – if we are not prepared for it, AI will be used to cut wage bills and amass a grotesque level of wealth for the most elite in our society.”

“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are sleepwalking into what could be a crisis which defines a generation of workers – they must get ahead of it to ensure that AI is used to progress society, not destroy our employment rates, tax base and way of life,” she stated.