George Lawlor: Ask on AI Observatory and Jobs Protection
George Lawlor asked the Taoiseach about early feedback on the Observatory for Business AI Readiness and how it is helping regional firms adopt AI. He stressed AI's potential in health diagnostics and warned Ireland must prepare to protect and create jobs as sensors and semiconductors converge with AI.
Observatory performance
George Lawlor questioned the Government on the performance of the Observatory for Business AI Readiness and the tools it is using to immerse itself with regional businesses. He pressed for clarity on how the observatory actively assists firms outside major urban centres to adopt AI technologies.
Health and innovation opportunities
Lawlor highlighted the promise of AI in health diagnostics, disease prevention and in accelerating the development of medicines and interventions. He argued that those scientific and medical opportunities make business adoption an urgent priority for regional companies and research hubs.
Industry signals from Galway
Referencing a recent visit to Analog in Galway, Lawlor noted industry is already preparing for a new era where sensors and semiconductors are integrated with AI. He warned that the change will be dramatic and emphasised the need for Ireland to be competitive and forward-looking.
Next steps and accountability
Taoiseach said it may be early to judge the observatory but asked Minister Burke to respond and for Ministers to evaluate the measures implemented. He concluded by reiterating that business adoption is a key part of the digital AI strategy and essential for protecting jobs into the future.
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Thank you Les, Ceann Comhairleach. Taoiseach, despite the early days in the digital AI strategy, do we have any feedback on how the Observatory for Business AI Readiness is performing in actively assisting regional businesses to adopt AI? And what are the tools that they're using to effectively immerse themselves in amongst the businesses in regional parts of the country? And also the reality. You might not like AI, but for me it has a lot of potential benefits. It has a lot of potential benefits as well, particularly in health diagnostics, in terms of what it can do in terms of disease prevention or understanding pathways and getting to develop medicines and interventions that could accelerate real better treatments for people in a whole range of areas. So there are opportunities here. And the reality, I was up with Analog recently in Galway last week, and it's very clear to me they're already looking at the next era when sensors and semiconductors will be engaged with AI. Essentially it's going to be quite dramatic. So we can either watch and moan the emergence of AI, or we can seek to be ahead of the paucity. Because we have to be competitive, we have to protect and create jobs for people into the future. And then the observatory of AI business readiness. It's probably a bit early yet, but I will ask Minister Bourke perhaps to respond to you in relation to that. Because I think we do have to evaluate measures that we've implemented and see what's happening. I appreciate the point you're making. But business adoption is a key part of the strategy. That concludes Dave's question. Thank you.
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