Foolish not to treat AI as a real challenge and risk – Taoiseach

It would be “foolish” of democracies not to treat artificial intelligence as a real challenge and risk, the Taoiseach has said.

Simon Harris said that a rise in AI generated images and audio has become a concern for society.

Mr Harris said it was “vital” that Ireland’s media and digital regulator Coimisiun na Mean introduces financial consequences for social media sites that do not comply with rules.

Asked about his concern about the future use of AI-generated audio and visuals, particularly those made of himself, Mr Harris said: “It’s not a concern I specifically considered but I think it’s a concern in general for society and for democracy in Ireland, and indeed across Europe and globally.

“Because we have seen a number of attempts in a number of jurisdictions, indeed we’ve seen some in our own with other prominent politicians.

“Yes, I think it’s something we should all be concerned about. Something specifically I am concerned in relation to myself.

“We have obviously a number now of legislative vehicles to try and make progress in relation to this.

“We have Digital Services Act in the European level. We have Coimisiun na Mean, our media commission now at a national level.

“I think it’s really vital that they move with haste in terms of taking various actions around regulations and rules and frameworks and putting frameworks in place where there can be real financial consequences, where a social media platform doesn’t comply and comply quickly with rules and guidelines in relation to that.

“I’m also heartened by the fact that we now have in Ireland for the first time, an Electoral Commission, and obviously the Electoral Commission is charged with ensuring the integrity of our electoral process and the likes so I think we have a number of tools in place.

“But we’d be foolish not to think that this is a real challenge and a real risk that all democracies face.”