Ireland at AI ‘crossroads’
Ireland can lead the way in the adoption and application of ethical, human-centred artificial intelligence (AI), but if we don’t act now, we risk being left behind.
That’s according to Dr Haithem Afli, a leading researcher and lecturer in artifical intelligence at MTU who said Ireland currently stands at a crossroads between advancing technology and ethics.
“We are witnessing extraordinary advances in AI that can help us solve major challenges — from housing to healthcare.
“Yet without deliberate inclusion, we risk deepening existing inequalities,” Dr Afli told the Cork Independent.
“My vision is simple: AI should be human-centred, ethical, and inclusive. It should amplify human dignity, not diminish it,” he added.
With just over €1 million spent on AI in Ireland by the Government in 2024, Dr Afli is concerned that Ireland could fall behind other countries in Europe and beyond unless we increase investment in AI literacy.
“We need national investment in digital literacy, accessible AI tools for communities, and a strong public voice in shaping how AI is used,” he explained.
“Innovation is not just about building faster systems; it is about building a fairer society.
“Ireland has the talent, the creativity, and the values to lead the way — but only if we make this a truly human story,” added Dr Afli.
According to global market intelligence firm IDC, AI infrastructure spending in the US is set to surpass the $200 billion mark in the next five years. In the UK, an average of £200 million in private sector investment has been funnelled into the country’s AI sector every day since summer 2024, according to the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It was widely reported in January that China had created a new AI investment fund with an initial capital of 60 billion yuan ($8.2 billion USD).
However, Dr Afli, who works with companies in Ireland and overseas to help them adopt AI in different fields, said some countries may be getting carried away in their move towards AI, while others are encountering resistance. “I work with American and Chinese multinationals, and I visit both countries.
“In China, and mostly in the east, they are too optimistic, and I don’t think there are a lot of regulations there. In the US, there is some resistance,” he added.
Dr Afli believes that Ireland, with its highly educated workforce and attractiveness to multinational companies, is in a position to be a global leader in human-centered AI, a discipline intent on creating AI systems that amplify and augment rather than displace human abilities. However, he feels there is still some resistance in the Irish Government and society in general.
He said: “In Ireland, people in key positions are still hesitant. We shouldn’t wait. If we want to react, it should be now. This is the future, and we are living it now.
“The best way is to work with the research community, people like us, to make sure that people can benefit from it but that it will be built in the right ethical way.
“We are living in a moment of two centuries colliding — a hyper-accelerated digital future, and a present where many communities are still gathering the wood for the fire, not because they are behind, but because they have been busy surviving.
“AI is moving fast, and if we do not consciously bring people with us, we risk widening the very gaps we hope to close,” Dr Afli added.
AI in healthcare
One area in which Dr Afli has worked specifically is the use of AI in healthcare through what is known as personalised or precision medicine which he feels could help to revolutionise the Irish health system.
Precision medicine methods us AI to generate insights on a specific patient’s needs based on massive amounts of genetic data. The sophisticated AI is capable of learning and reasoning and can aid clinician human decision making.
Dr Afli explained: “From the DNA, we understand better about the person. People might have different interactions with bacteria or disease as well, based on their history. We work on trying to analyse the DNA.
“The medical history is not coming only from what you have now but also from what you are inheriting from your family. That’s something you cannot see directly as a doctor without analysing huge amounts of data,” he added.
Things like smart watches recording daily information can also be a great help in creating more personalised treatment, said Dr Afli.
He also pointed out how hugely beneficial AI could be in addressing hospital overcrowding which continues to be a significant problem in Cork and across Ireland.