Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the (i) opportunities; and (ii) challenges for their Department in relation to the development of Artificial Intelligence.
First Minister and deputy First Minister: (i) The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies has introduced a number of potential opportunities to improve the efficiency and quality of services across all government and public sector organisations, and will be a key enabler in future activities undertaken by our department.
These opportunities include the streamlining of administrative and workflow processes, the introduction of new data analysis methodologies, enhancements to the accessibility of our citizen facing services, the development of new tools to protect our critical assets, and optimised decision making through improved data insights.
(ii) The opportunities provided by Artificial Intelligence must be weighed against the challenges and risks that their introduction present, and in particular the protection of citizen data. We must put in place mechanisms that enable emerging technologies to be used in an ethical way, ensuring that they do not introduce bias into our decision making. There must always be accountability and transparency for all outputs and decisions that are derived from citizen data.
A “Generative AI” Policy has already been established within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and our department will follow advice from technology specialists, The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), as we explore the use of this technology in the future.
We are committed to identifying and seizing opportunities that arise from Artificial Intelligence, while ensuring fit-for-purpose risk management and governance structures are in place.
ENDS
Your MLA 