Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail any training that has been provided to staff in his Department on the use of Artificial Intelligence, including its limitations and risks, since February 2024.
Minister of Education: In my Department, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), follows the Northern Ireland Civil Service AI Policy Guidance – Securing Maximising the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence, which requires any outputs from the application of AI, to be reviewed and approved by officials before they are adopted. How AI can be used effectively to support departmental business is still developing and currently Microsoft Co-Pilot is the primary AI application provided to staff. There is a comprehensive training suite provided by IT Assist Digital Services and staff are directed to its use in the NICS intranet pages. To date, no formal external training on the use of AI has been provided to staff.
The Education Authority has delivered training, guidance and awareness activity specifically for EA staff to support the safe and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence, including awareness of its limitations and associated risks.
The ALBs sponsored by my Department, report that AI is being developed as a practical support tool to assist staff in areas such as to help analyse documents, prepare press releases and summarise large documents. April 2025 the Middletown Centre for Autism facilitated discussions and awareness sessions focused on AI ethics, governance, limitations and risk management. These sessions considered issues such as data protection, confidentiality, information security, accuracy, bias, transparency, intellectual property and the need for appropriate human oversight when using AI-enabled tools.
ENDS
Your MLA 