Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1313. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has taken advice in respect of the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) within his Department; if any section of his Department currently makes use of A.I., and if he will outline the purposes it is utilised for and costs associated with same; and if he has consulted with any consultancy firms in respect of the use of A.I. [38560/23]
View answerIn June 2023, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued guidance to all Government Departments with advice on the cyber-security aspects of the use of Generative AI. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is responsible for advising and informing Government and the public, amongst a broader set of stakeholders, regarding current threats and vulnerabilities associated with network information security.
AI is used in the following situations within my Department.
• Predicting the likelihood of TB outbreaks.
• Image analysis of crops claimed under CAP schemes.
• Image analysis for identifying species susceptible to H5N1 (Bird flu).
• Customer Segmentation analysis for developing Agri-Food policies.
• Analysis for identifying risk factors for Microbial Food Safety.
• Smart Text analysis to prevent and contain data breaches.
All current and future use of AI are subject to human review, data protection and governance considerations.
The project for ‘Predicting the likelihood of TB outbreaks’ formed part of the Future Tech Challenge coordinated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) in partnership with IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. The project won services to the value of €100,000 from IBM & DPER to fund innovation in the Public Service in AI, and was therefore cost neutral to the Department.
The ‘Image Analysis’ project is associated with the Area Monitoring System (AMS) and uses some aspects of AI, namely Machine Learning and Deep Learning to classify satellite imagery as required by EU regulations to verify CAP scheme requirements. The associated costs are part of an overall AMS service contract
‘Smart Text analysis to prevent and contain data breaches’ was delivered as a Proof of Concept under an existing contract on a cost neutral basis to the Department.
All other cases listed above were delivered using a combination of Department staff and cost neutral graduate resources.
My Department has not consulted with any consultancy firms in respect of the use of A.I.
