After 25 Years, Ireland’s New Science & AI Committees Can Finally Bridge Research and Policy
They say politics is a marathon, not a sprint. When Richard Bruton and I authored the Report of the Joint Committee on Education and Science on Science and Technology in 2000[1] [2], we could hardly have imagined it would take 25 years for our recommendation to establish an Oireachtas Committee on science and technology to come to fruition.
Now, we find not one but two committees being created; the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, chaired by Deputy Erin McGreehan, and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence, chaired by Deputy Malcolm Byrne.
What excites me about these appointments is the opportunity they provide for both Deputies, early in their careers, to shape impactful work. They are also starting from a blank canvass at a time of growing demand among scientists and academics on how they can ensure their research, aimed at solving today's major societal challenges, can influence government policy more effectively.
There is no doubt that the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is both exciting and challenging. Last year, I helped draft a global resolution for the Inter-Parliamentary Union about AI’s impact on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law[3]. It highlighted risks like disinformation undermining democratic trust and the need for global cooperation, alongside managing pressure from tech giants seeking favourable regulation.
The new AI committee will have to figure out how Ireland can keep up with this fast-moving field, while addressing risks like reinforcing biases and discrimination in society and deteriorating gender inequality through things like deepfake videos targeting women. It’s also changing the job market as automation replaces certain types of work, which means education and training will need to adapt to help those affected. This committee can drive Ireland’s leadership in ethically harnessing AI’s potential while addressing these emerging risks.
Meanwhile, the committee on Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will tackle the wider implications of technological advancement, from quantum computing and geoengineering to human augmentation and neurotechnology. While these advancements hold great promise, the Committee must enable Ireland to anticipate potential challenges, mitigate risks, and maximise opportunities arising from scientific and technological advancements.
For example, geoengineering technologies, such as marine cloud brightening which aims to reflect more sunlight away from the earth’s surface could help cool parts of the United States but dramatically warm Ireland, as a result. This highlights the importance of sustainability and support for international collaboration to mitigate potential environmental risks[4].
A shared concern for both committees will be how Government regulates rapidly evolving technologies, protecting our citizens and society without hindering innovation. Over the past four years, I’ve worked on an ethical charter for science and technology[5] —a tool to help parliamentarians grappling with regulation and governance of emerging technologies. This framework offers guiding principles to promote responsible scientific progress from both a regulatory and research perspective.
Combined with all this the Government's Programme for Government, while ambitious, remains vague on detail. The Oireachtas committee process offers researchers an opportunity to provide evidence to turn aspirations into practical policy outcomes[6]. As misinformation and polarisation grow, evidence-informed policymaking is crucial to cutting through populism, while maintaining trust in decision making.
There are also significant opportunities for other sectoral committees, like Climate, Environment and Energy, Defence and National Security, and Health, to integrate research into their legislative and policy work. Incorporating science and evidence makes reports more credible and effective—a strategy I successfully employed as Chair of the Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands Committee in the last Dáil, and one which I hope will be adopted across all the new Dáil committees.
[1] http://archive.oireachtas.ie/2000/REPORT_16102000_0.html
[2] https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2001-02-08/17/
[3] https://www.ipu.org/file/20061/download
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0262407924011667
[5] https://documentscharts.info/ipu-international-charter
