Report: DETE consultation on National Implementation of EU Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act)
Dr Sarah Anne Dunne
28. 11. 2024. UCD Centre for Digital Policy members and colleagues recently submitted a report from July 2024 to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the implementation of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, consulting on Ireland’s approach in implementing the Act and establishing a national competent authority to do so.
Centre members Elizabeth Farries, Thompson Kwarkye, Susan Leavy, Labhaoise Ní Fhaoláin, Alexandros Minotakis, Eugenia Siapera, Courtney Ford contributed to this document, advocating for continued research and expertise in AI sustainability risks to identify potential issues and harm and to ensure regulation maintains pace with tech advances. The Centre further argued for a multi-stakeholder perspective to ensure public awareness of and responses to AI are met, prioritising conversations around sustainability and labour perspectives on work in relation to AI development. The report specifically highlights the “optimistic [but] as-yet unproven ability of AI to solve sustainability concerns rather than managing “the steep cost of AI models to the environment”’ in the here-and-now as risk factor.
The report identified multi-stakeholder involvement as a necessity of the AI Act’s function and optimisation in Ireland following the SCOT (Social Construction of Technology) Paradigm. Centre members argued for a multi-stakeholder perspective to ensure public awareness of and responses to AI are met, prioritising conversations around (a) sustainability and the ‘hidden costs’ of AI, and (b) labour perspectives around the introduction and use of AI systems within the workplace. Empowering local communities as stakeholders in both these issues is highlighted as an imperative aspect of the AI Act, with the report advocating that their involvement be clearly specified in the Competent Authorities tasks who are charged with the ‘application and implementation’ of the Act/AI.
The report further outlined that risks and challenges facing potential Competent Authority candidates. Noting as those from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the National Standards Authority Institute and the Central Bank as likely candidates, the authors highlight the challenges they will face including the lack of expertise in technology law, AI and data science, an insufficient emphasis in their remit on the societal impact of their decisions, a likelihood to focus on their own domain and interests, and increased pressure on all part of the organisation in question as is. As the report has highlighted: ‘on. As regards the latest challenge referred to, leading domestic civil society organisations in Ireland have already critiqued the DPC’s lack of capacity to enforce existing regulations. Without increasing resources significantly, existing capability issues will be exacerbated.’
The report continued to argue the need for synergies between adopted EU regulations and the AI Act, emphasising particularly how relationships between the GDPR, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Data Governance Act and the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, can synergise with the AI Act ‘to create a more cohesive and efficient regulatory environment that fosters trust, fairness, and innovation.’
Finally, the Centre’s report advocates for public trust through transparency and education. The report highlights the need for transparency in AI as a necessity of public trust to ensure fundamental and human rights remain respected and paramount within such systems. This would necessitate transparency on how data is used, how AI reaches conclusions and makes decisions, and ensuring that AI data sources and algorithms are understandable structures. Building trust is also necessitated on public education on AI systems: engaging the public via consultations, workshops and education campaigns is advised by the Centre.
Read our submission and the full DETE report here.