Minister to invite Pope to contribute to policy
Minister for Artificial Intelligence Niamh Smyth has welcomed Pope Leo’s recent intervention in the global debate on AI, saying discussions about technological progress must never lose sight of their impact on people and society.
Speaking to The Anglo-Celt at the AI Works for Ireland conference in Monaghan’s Peace Campus on Friday, the Cavan-Monaghan TD said she agreed with the Pope’s warning that AI must remain firmly centred on humanity.
The Minister was responding to comments made by Pope Leo in his letter to Catholic bishops, Magnificent Humanity, in which he stated that AI needs to be “disarmed”.
“I’ve always said we cannot have the conversation about the development of AI without the discussion on how it impacts human beings, society and democracy. I don’t disagree with anything that he says.”
The Minister said the European Union’s AI Act would play an important role in ensuring safeguards are in place as the technology develops.
Indeed, Minister Smyth revealed she was so encouraged by the Pope’s engagement with the issue that she hopes to involve him in future discussions on AI policy.
“I will be inviting him to our AI Summit, because I think it’s important that we have the uncomfortable conversations. You can’t ignore the impact on human life,” she said.
Addressing concerns about the rapid pace of technological change, the Minister acknowledged that significant transformation is already underway but said predicting the future remained difficult.
“When Google came into the world, we thought we’d never go to a library again, but that wasn’t the case. I can’t predict where AI is going to have us in four or five years’ time, but I hope it will be normalised.”
Asked whether employees adopting AI in their jobs were like turkeys voting for Christmas, the Minister said no, pointing to Elk Studios founder Ian Hamilton, who told the conference his Dundalk-based company had grown from six staff to 70.
“That is not to deny there will be some displacement, of course there will, and the Government is very focused on that,” she said.
“We don’t want mass unemployment.”
She said the Government is establishing an observatory to monitor the impact of AI on employment, while the Department of Education is examining opportunities to reskill and upskill workers.
“While the mundane, administrative burden will be taken out of a lot of jobs, it is going to free up time for creativity. Human intelligence can never be replaced by AI.”