Evolving AI like 'a train coming'

Newly appointed Junior Minister at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Niamh Smyth, says she is “thrilled” with her appointment.

Tasked with special responsibility for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Transformation, her brief is among the most demanding handed out by Taoiseach Michéal Martin last week. It also couldn’t be more relevant to an evolving digital society, particularly at a time when newly elected US President Donald Trump announced private investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for AI, hoping to outpace rival nations in developing this business-critical technology.

“Trade promoting is about promoting all the businesses on this island globally, so that’s one aspect of my new role,” she tells the Celt.

“With AI, there really is a train coming at us, one I think we don’t fully comprehend as a society, the impacts it can and will have. While I know we tend to think of this change in negative terms, I do strongly believe, having attended a lot of briefings on the subject during the last term, that there are also a lot of positive sides - a world of opportunity, particularly around health and education, industry, that can be tapped into.”

This is now Deputy Smyth’s third term as a TD. Her first from 2016 was in opposition. Her second saw her chair the Oireachtas Media Committee throughout the RTÉ secret payment debacle.

That was a steep “learning curve”, growing as a politician of experience with the glare of public scrutiny on every word spoken and move made.

The unfolding RTÉ scandal and the strong line she took in terms of dealing with proceedings made Deputy Smyth a household name.

“We had high profile people involved such as Ryan Tubridy, Dee Forbes, household names for some. So it was a massive learning curve because, like anything of that magnitude, the situation is very fluid. It can change in hours rather than days. My job particularly as Chair was to be fair.”

She adds: “If the [RTÉ] crisis hadn’t have happened would people know so much about the Media Committee and the workings of it? Possibly not. But it does demonstrate to people, whether on a committee, as a minister, there are many facets to what goes on in Leinster House.”

There was some crossover too between her work on the Media Committee and what Deputy Smyth is doing now, when she and her colleagues ran the rule over the likes of the Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Bill.

She has already met with Secretary General at her department, Declan Hughes, who previously headed up the Strategic Policy Division and subsequently had responsibility for policy development and funding programmes for inward investment and enterprise innovation.

Deputy Smyth admits she still has much to learn about her brief, but is excited by the opportunities it affords Ireland and the wider economy.

“The goal of the department is to help, support and nurture digital transformation within businesses nationwide, to create efficiencies and encourage them to grow and expand into new areas. AI is part of that too.”

The changing nature of the industry though is perhaps best summed up by the fact that, no sooner had President Trump made his funding claim, $1tn off was wiped off the value of the US tech index following the launch of China’s own DeepSeek chatbot.

She is equally aware of how new technology, if not managed correctly, can and has been used to destabilise democracy.

“We are entering into a very new chapter of Ireland’s economic history,” she says, referring to President Trump’s other announcement regarding trade tariffs. Yet Deputy Smyth is heartened to see a united European front, as on display when leaders convened in Brussels earlier this week.

She feels Europe needs to have a “coherent response” to potential threats, while echoing the Taoiseach’s comments on avoiding any “knee-jerk” reactions.

If there is an “upside”, Deputy Smyth says the uncertainty may have bound Ireland and its neighbours closer still.

“To hear [Polish PM Donald] Tusk on the same page as [president of the European Commission] Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders, it gives me great hope that, while there is a crisis looming and there is no doubt about that with Mr Trump and his attitude around tariffs, perhaps it can bring even greater stability across Europe, which I’ve felt has been very fragile over the past number of years.”