Artificial intelligence is already embedded in all aspects of our lives. We look at healthcare, education, transport, the creative arts, music, business and Government services. As others have said, there are many practical applications that are useful but, equally, there are a lot of dangers out there which have been referenced. They are now impinging on our basic human rights and we need to protect our children and manage threats to our energy resources. It is not going too far to say there is an existential threat to humanity from AI. Even the creators of it have acknowledged that. We need to be very careful. That said, AI is not going to go away which is why it has to be hugely regulated to protect our basic freedoms. The likes of Musk talk about taking away freedom but to protect our freedom we need to regulate him and his ilk. It should not be left in the hands of the tech bros. None of these massively wealthy individuals has shown any inclination or ability to put the common good at the heart of their businesses. The algorithms are all about prioritising engagement no matter how negative, no matter how down right evil. They are all about maximising revenue and there is little or no moderation left. As others have mentioned, moderators have been fired to push up the profits. That is why I welcome that Ireland has taken some first steps in implementing the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and designating the 15 national competent authorities to enforce it, which places it among some of the first EU member states. However, if we want this legislation to truly protect our citizens, we need rigorous enforcement, enhanced transparency and resources to adapt to any technological advances as they come. Quite frankly, the jury is still out. As of now, we have regulation under bodies like the Central Bank, the Data Protection Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, the HSE, the Health and Safety Authority but we still need one single, empowered point of co-ordination. I am interested to see how the proposed national AI office is actually going to work. Will it be in place by this year? Will it be properly resourced? I am talking about technical experts, the engineers, the auditors and the data scientists who can do a deep dive into the AI and algorithms, rather than just carry out sample audits and tick boxes. Enforcement must be proactive, not reactive. High at risk areas like policing, elections, healthcare and employment must be routinely inspected, not monitored after the harm or after the event, and non-compliance needs to have the strict penalties at our national remit and at EU level. I acknowledge that the EU is doing a much better job than other jurisdictions but we need to go further and not ease up due to pressure from the likes of Trump. I note the Minister, Deputy Burke, has said that building an AI ecosystem requires something that is informative, trusted and transparent. To deliver on that we probably need a public register of high-risk AI systems that are deployed in Ireland and keep our public in the loop rather than let them be disinformed by the trolls and the bots. The EU AI act is a landmark piece of legislation but we need to resource it to keep up because the technology is going to change all the time and we need to be at the forefront and keep up the pressure. If they are not going to play ball, we should get rid of the AI systems.

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