Public Consultation on the Development of a National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence

16th October 2019 | Closed Consultations

Objectives of a National Irish Strategy on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Future Jobs Ireland 2019, published in March last, includes the commitment to develop a National AI Strategy for Ireland. The Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation is leading on the development of this cross-Government Strategy, which is expected to provide a high-level direction to the development, adoption and implementation of AI in Ireland.

Countries around the world are developing national AI strategies in order to harness the opportunities presented by rapid advances in AI applications and manage the impacts, e.g. as regards issues around ethics, inclusion and diversity in AI, enterprise adoption of AI, the impact of automation on jobs, and future skills requirements.

Purpose of this Public Consultation Process

The purpose of this public consultation is to better understand the views of the public on the opportunities, enablers and challenges for AI in Ireland.

We are seeking your views on the key areas and issues that should be addressed by the strategy as well as the guiding principles that should drive the design, development and deployment of AI in Ireland. We are urging all interested parties to have their say in informing the new National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence.

We are launching our formal National Irish Strategy on Artificial Intelligence Consultation process today Wednesday, 16 October 2019 until Thursday, 7 November 2019 and are seeking engagement from all stakeholders and interested parties. This new strategy will seek to articulate a vision for the adoption of AI in Ireland.

What you need to do next?

Please provide us with your views by completing the form, which you can access here: Public Consultation on the Development of a National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence

By clicking this link, you will be directed to a Microsoft Form which we will use to gather your feedback. You can familiarise yourself with the Microsoft Privacy and Cookies and Terms of Use statements by clicking on the links at the bottom of the form. Submissions may also be submitted by email to aistrategy@dbei.gov.ie.

It is important to remember that in the interests of openness and transparency, submissions we receive may be publicly posted on our website after the consultation period has ended. The Department will not respond to individual inputs received, but rather will collate these inputs with a view to informing the development of the National AI Strategy.

Data Protection and Freedom of Information

The information you provide may be disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

On this basis, you should consider whether any of the information you are providing to us is commercially sensitive, and if it is, you should specifically identify this information and provide us with a reason for its sensitivity. We will consult with you regarding information identified by you as sensitive before publishing or otherwise disclosing it.

We are also subject to the provisions of Data Protection Law. Any Personal Data which you provide to us in the course of this public consultation process will be treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, strictly in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018.

Submissions

As part of the development process for the National AI Strategy, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment conducted a public consultation and invited stakeholders and other interested parties to submit responses to an online questionnaire as well as free form inputs to a dedicated email address. There were 85 responses to the online questionnaire, which are available to view in the AI Strategy Public Consultation Report below as well as 7 written submissions which are also published and available to download at the links below.

Responses are published here as they were received. Personal identifying information contained in submissions has been redacted and will not be published, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018.