Leaders and decision makers in government, industry and education have convened at Hillsborough Castle for a landmark gathering set to shape Northern Ireland’s strategic approach to artificial intelligence implementation, adoption, and governance for the next decade.
Hosted by the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC), the inaugural AI Castle Conversation was addressed by Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Jayne Brady MBE, Chief Scientific and Technology Adviser Professor Helen McCarthy, Department for the Economy Permanent Secretary Ian Snowden and Ulster University Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew.
In a defining moment for AI policy and adoption in Northern Ireland, the deep dialogue event serves as a critical precursor to the formation of a new AI Taskforce under The Executive Office and forthcoming Office of AI and Digital, announced in the recent Northern Ireland Programme for Government.
David Crozier CBE, AICC Director, said:
“The conversations held this week will directly inform strategic priorities and policy developments, not least the creation of a comprehensive AI Action Plan for Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister has recently outlined his national vision for AI implementation, stating that no person should spend time on a task where digital or AI can do it better, quicker, and to the same high quality and standard. While work is required to address the complex implications of the technology, our ambition for Northern Ireland aligns directly.
“This region is uniquely positioned, with our strong academic institutions, growing technology sector and cross-border collaboration opportunities to harness the transformative potential of AI. By convening senior officials to establish a shared vision and coordinated approach to AI adoption and governance, the AI Castle Conversation will be instrumental in shaping Northern Ireland’s AI journey.”
Sponsored by Accenture, Analytics Engines, AWS, Deloitte, Microsoft and Version 1, the AI Castle Conversation is the first of six ‘Deep Dialogues’ due to take place at the historic royal palace.
Hillsborough Castle has, throughout history, played host to countless discussions and negotiations aimed at fostering understanding and peace. This facilitation of dialogues that shape and advance societal issues on the island of Ireland, in a place that inspires worlds and minds to meet, continued with the inaugural AI Castle Conversation.
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Aligning with the five key sub-groups of the AI Taskforce, the event examined AI governance, infrastructure, data, skills and public sector transformation. With each session structured to understand where we are now, where we need to get to with clear targets and objectives, and how we get there via a practical roadmap for implementation, the full day event was a series of focused discussions covering the following:
· AI Tech: Donnacha Kirk, Deputy Director of AI Technology & Research Services, AICC.
· AI Ethics, Governance and Responsibility: Tadhg Hickey, Head of AI & Digital Ethics Policy, AICC.
· AI Skills: Michaela Black, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Ulster University.
· Real-world use cases for Public Sector Transformation through AI.
· Live interactive roundtable engagement on areas to inform the AI Strategy.
· Fireside chat with Thom Kenney, Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, hosted by journalist and presenter Jim Fitzpatrick.
In a modern take on conferencing, an instant, comprehensive report was developed in real-time during the engagement and distributed to all participants to provide public sector officials with a summary of actions for the implementation of an AI strategy for Northern Ireland.
The AICC, an Ulster University-led initiative in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast, was established in March 2024 as part of a £16.3 million investment by Invest Northern Ireland and the Department for the Economy. Their mission is to advance awareness and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies among businesses, specifically SMEs, across Northern Ireland. The AICC is based across Ulster University’s Belfast and Derry~Londonderry campuses and Queen’s University Belfast.
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