Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
242. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide a list of the members of the Working Group on Trustworthy AI Principles and Guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19357/23]
View answerArtificial Intelligence is a powerful and fast evolving technology that is and will continue to have huge impacts on our economy and society. It also can bring great benefits and opportunities in how Government delivers services. In line with Connecting Government 2030, we have the opportunity to evolve our services digitally with innovation, including through AI.
Our National AI Strategy, AI - Here for Good, commits to having a robust governance framework to safeguard against risk and to underpin public trust in AI. To that end, my Department and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer co-chair the Working Group on Trustworthy AI Principles and Guidelines.
This Working Group brings together representatives of relevant Government Departments and State bodies, along with experts in the area of AI, to develop guidelines for the use of AI in the public service so that it is trustworthy and ethical and to ensure that Government can safely harness the power of AI in the delivery of services to tackle big challenges.
The Working Group currently includes representatives of:
• Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
• Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
• Department of the Taoiseach
• Department of Justice
• Department of Health
• Department of Social Protection
• Department of Foreign Affairs
• Department of Education
• Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
• Defence Forces
• National Standards Authority of Ireland
• Office of Government Procurement
These are joined by the below experts in the field of artificial intelligence:
• Professor Barry O’Sullivan (Insight Centre for Data Analytics, UCC)
• Dr. Patricia Scanlon (Ireland’s AI Ambassador)
• Dr. Susan Leavy (UCD)
Recognising the importance of cyber security in relation to AI, the Working Group will shortly be expanded to include the National Cyber Security Centre.
