Minister Calleary addresses data and AI collaborathon
Earlier in summer 2024, Minister of State for Trade, Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary TD, addressed a data and artificial intelligence (AI) collaborathon hosted by The Project Foundry in the Guinness Enterprise Centre, Dublin.
Opening his address to the collaborathon, Calleary emphasises the opportunities posed by a collaboration of data and AI are “unlike any previous technological change in terms of how quickly they are evolving, and their potentially transformative impact for our collective good”.
Explaining that Ireland’s ability to maximise the potential of AI hinges on the quality of data that are “the fuel for AI algorithms”, he asserts: “Data-driven innovation is poised to bring enormous benefits to citizens and companies.”
Contextualising the challenges and opportunities of AI, Calleary references the advances in existing AI technologies in 2023 which “were able to make use of sufficient sized datasets”. “This ability to access sources of data and increases in volume are enabling capabilities in AI,” he adds.
Referencing “fears around AI technologies”, the Minister indicates that these must be addressed while continuing to “collaborate and develop our research and innovation opportunities to continue to put Ireland at the forefront of this transformational change”.
The EU AI Act, he says, will ensure the regulation of high-risk AI uses, while “allowing innovation to flourish”, protecting fundamental rights as well as health and safety. “Unacceptable risks will not be allowed,” he outlines, adding: “High-risk uses such as in health, recruitment, law enforcement, or very powerful general-purpose systems will be subject to compliance requirements. Medium risk systems will have transparency requirements and low risk AI systems are permitted without restrictions.”
Concluding, the Minister advocates for a “multi-stakeholder approach to data and AI collaboration”. “Businesses of all sizes, scientists and researchers, academics, governments, and civil society all need to work together to harness their potential,” he says.
Speaking immediately after the collaborathon, organiser Maria McCann, Organisational Psychologist and Project Foundry’s Head of Practice Data and Digital Solutions – remarked on the “strong willingness to share and learn, especially around key challenges like education and data security”.
“The collaboration, focus on user-centred approaches, and exchange of ideas have set a solid foundation for positioning Ireland at the forefront of data and AI transformations. The discussions on skills development and robust data security policies were across multiple stakeholders from different sectors and invaluable insights were shared. There is so much to learn in this space, but it is exciting that by collaborating together Ireland could accelerate how they embrace a digital first mindset,” she summarises.
