Artificial Intelligence will upend our society and transform our economy over coming years.
That was the message from Stormont Economy Minister Conor Murphy when he addressed the sold-out AI-Con conference in Titanic Belfast this morning.
"AI will redefine job roles, create new industries, require new skill and generate commercial opportunities for entrepreneurs," said the Sinn Féin man. "And this revolution could happen very quickly."
Among key objectives relating to AI identified by the Minister are the creation of more good jobs and easing the path to Net Zero.
Economy Minister @conormurphysf has attended a conference where hundreds of business leaders and experts met to discuss Artificial Intelligence #AICon2024
— Economy NI (@Economy_NI) October 3, 2024
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"AI may lead to many traditional roles becoming redundant," said Minister Murphy. "However, AI also has the potential to create more good jobs. As the labour market changes, we will work with business and workers to help them adapt."
FINE: Information Commissioner John Edwards, a native of New Zealand, vowed to defend personal data from AI companies in his speech AI-Con '24
Cautioning against the rise of a new digital divide created by artificial intelligence, the Minister said it was essential that "AI works for us, not the reverse".
He added: "Earlier this year, I invested £16.5m in an 'AI Collaboration Centre' which is being delivered in Belfast and Derry by Ulster University, supported by Queen's. This investment is developing our AI skills capacity; with 140 post-graduate scholarship places accepted. We are investing in sustainable AI research and encouraging companies to adopt AI solutions that contribute to both economic growth and environmental sustainability. But the scale of the coming change is such that we will need to do much more."
Hosted by Belfast's biggest digital company Kainos and supported by Belfast City Council, Synechron and Invest NI, the sixth annual AI-Con conference was also addressed by UK Information Commissioner John Edwards — in town to announce his £750k fine on the PSNI for a data breach — and UCD lecturer and RTÉ presenter Lollie Mancey.
FUTUREVILLE: Lollie Mancey
