Darragh's Soapbox: Do you use AI?

Dr Patricia Scanlon, Chair of the Irish Government expert AI council, urged Government last week to act on the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

“AI is fundamentally transforming how we work, learn, innovate and function as a society across Ireland. 

"Ireland's window to lead this transformation rather than be shaped by it is rapidly closing. The decisions we make in the coming months will be critical," Dr Scanlon said.

She outlined risks that AI poses to society as including bias, privacy erosion, job displacement, misinformation, threats to fairness, safety and human dignity, and impacts on the creative sector and intellectual property.

The topic of AI and its use has become highly polarized and conversations on the topic cycle between either "embracing AI or rejecting it outright", Dr Scanlon said.

We approached locals in Waterford last week to ask them how they feel about the topic.

Ryan O’Keeffe said that AI poses a threat to artists.

“I don’t like it at all. People use it to generate art, which takes revenue away from actual artists and it will take people's jobs in other areas too.

"I think at the moment you can still tell it's AI art because AI right now can't figure out shadowing like an artist can, but it will get to the point where it will be difficult to tell the difference, which I don't like."

David Bjelac added that AI can be a useful tool if used correctly.

“AI is great if you use it the right way and if it's not misused and used for malicious purposes. It should be used just as a tool and not as a primary source of information and creativity, I think."

Meanwhile, Darragh Hearne, Douglas Collins and Alex Flynn said that they use AI chatbot 'ChatGPT' in their lives, but are not yet reliant on it.

“We use it and it can be very helpful in some scenarios. I think at the moment it’s just there to help and we’d use it as a last resource. 

"But it will keep getting better and better in time and could become more important to people."