A member of the Government’s AI Advisory Council has criticised updated guidance in the Department of Enterprise to “foster greater use” of the technology in drafting key documents, writes Craig Hughes.

Professor Barry O’Sullivan, an award-winning academic in artificial intelligence (AI), data ethics and public policy, has warned there is “very thin ice” separating the benefits and risks of rolling out AI in the public sector.

He raised concerns about the source material being inputted to generative AI models, warning that confidence in official State documents is “significant”.

The comments come after the Department of Enterprise reviewed its policy document for staff on the use of the technology.

In response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said the updated guidance “encourages and fosters greater use of generative AI”.

While no specific use for the drafting of legislation has yet been identified, general use scenarios outlined by the minister look set to include research, the creation of initial drafts or layouts for documents and in “supporting decision-making”.

Minister Burke added that staff are expected to be “transparent and vigilant” about any significant use of the technology.

Mr Byrne, who was recently named chairman of the Oireachtas’s first committee on AI, welcomed the update.

He said: “We need to look at AI as a tool for saving time on mundane tasks.

“In businesses, it can free up time for staff to focus on important things as opposed to processing data.

“In the public sector, it will allow employees to focus on policy. In lawmaking, of course the presence of human oversight is fundamental.

“But if we can use technology to help us do our jobs in a more efficient man - ner, so much the better.”

The Wexford TD believes “we will see greater use of AI in public service”.

However, Prof. O’Sullivan, who has served on the State’s AI advisory council since January 2024, expressed an opposing view.

In a comment under a LinkedIn post from Mr Byrne, he said “it is hard to see why [using AI to draft official documents] is a good idea for a multitude of reasons”.

“I was involved in the development of the earlier guidelines.

“Apart from accuracy, there are also issues of completeness and simple plagiarism. This is very thin ice,” the former University College Cork governor warned.

Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Prof. O’Sullivan said: “It is good to be enthusiastic about AI, but from a public policy point of view, we must be careful.”

He pointed to a recommendation in the recently published guidelines on AI use in the public sector, which advises that “more general access to such tools by staff should not be permitted until departments have conducted the relevant business assessments, have appropriate usage policies in place and have implemented staff awareness programmes on safe and appropriate usage of these tools”.

A Department of Enterprise spokeswoman said AI will not be used to generate entire documents, but added that tools are “being made available to staff to help them find information, answer questions and generate draft content and ideas”.

“The department’s Generative AI Policy makes staff very aware that AI can make mistakes, and third-party content on the internet may not always be accurate or reliable, and that they should always check the sources before making decisions or taking actions based on AI-generated content,” the spokeswoman added.