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Artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape jobs or be used to create conspiracy theories that could cause political instability, according to a document outlining the possible threats facing Ireland. The National Risk Assessment report, which began in 2014, aims to outline economic, security or political risks to Ireland in the coming years, with the aim of informing decisions and to prepare for those possibilities. It also aims to guard against “group think”, and states that it highlighted the risk of Brexit in its 2014 report, and the housing challenge in its 2015 report. In the introduction to the report, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the list of 25 risks range from climate change to newer risks such as the security of Ireland’s energy supply and the proliferation of disruptive technology like AI. The report stated that as disruptive technology trends develop, “these advances create a range of opportunities” but also pose a possibility for malign use. Coastal erosion, which can impact upon infrastructure and human settlement, will accelerate in the coming years National Risk Assessment report It said that disruptive technologies such as AI could cause automation that could “displace or reshape” jobs and sectors, or be used for “malign” purposes. “Generative AI systems, which make the rapid production of content based on a variety of source material (text, moving or still images, computer code) easily available to the public, will bring extraordinary change, but will also pose a challenge for societal resilience, in particular how we counter the harms that could flow from their malicious use. “This could include the use of AI to generate disinformation and misinformation, deepfakes, or conspiracy theories, with the potential to distort markets, undermine cohesion or cause political instability.” It added: “The spread of mis/disinformation, including via social media and other digital platforms, has the potential to undermine the State, the integrity of elections, social cohesion, and the functioning of the economy.” In relation to Northern Ireland, the report said that certain groups with “very limited levels of support” are “intent on disrupting the significant progress” to bring about peace on the island of Ireland. “The risks to Ireland posed by armed conflict, terrorism and hybrid security threats are potentially compounded by our having one of the lowest levels of investment in military and defence capabilities within Europe,” it said. The assessment also stated that Ireland’s housing shortage and pricing issues “are unlikely to rectify themselves over the short term”, with inflation and skilled labour shortages impacting supply. It said that high rent costs create a risk of a “locked-out generation”, and is impacting on homelessness, which is at record high monthly rates. “The housing challenge risks increasing social exclusion and impairing labour mobility,” it said, adding that the growing number of asylum seekers highlighted the “undersupply of appropriate housing and the inflexibility of the sector”. It highlights that climate change is happening at “an accelerating and alarming rate”, and that Ireland needs to urgently “step up” efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy. “…Failure to meet obligations and targets on emissions, energy usage, and renewable energy, set both by the EU and in national legislation, is a risk. “Inertia and resistance to change risks Ireland’s efforts at adaptation and mitigation.” It also highlighted extreme weather events in Ireland such as flooding and extreme temperatures, which have “major” impacts on the environment, people and economy. “Coastal erosion, which can impact upon infrastructure and human settlement, will accelerate in the coming years,” it said. “In this regard, it is notable that much critical infrastructure, such as power stations, wastewater treatment plants, and rail infrastructure can be found along our coastline. “Very significant investment, with associated delivery risks, will be necessary to build climate resilience into flood defences and water management systems, in order to secure communities and the infrastructure they depend on.” The assessment added: “Trade-offs and public expenditure choices will be required.” It also warned that vulnerabilities in global financial markets “have grown more pressing” and highlighted “a wide range of financial vulnerabilities and elevated uncertainty”. It said that Ireland’s post-Brexit relationship with Great Britain “will continue to present challenges”, particularly on trade as the UK moves to introduce checks and controls on imports. It warned that while Ireland is “a strong supporter” of EU enlargement it also poses a risk to cohesion across the bloc and may lead to changes in how the EU operates. The report said that the most extreme risks to Ireland “are outside exclusive national control”, and as a result, international relations, such as Ireland’s EU membership, are important. The development of the National Risk Assessment is overseen by a group of departmental officials and members of relevant agencies, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. A proposed list of strategic risks is drafted which is then published for public consultation, which took place from December 7 2022 to February 17 2023. The proposed risks are then reviewed and further considered by Government departments and agencies, and the final draft was considered by government on July 25. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry and Meghan ring young online innovators after funding awards James Bulger’s mother condemns ‘disgusting’ AI clips on TikTok of murdered son Police use AI camera van to spot drivers using mobile phones

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Facebook‘s parent company Meta disabled only a small fraction of the over one million reports it received of underage users on Instagram since early 2019, a lawsuit filed by 33 US states reportedly said. The newly unsealed legal complaint accused the tech giant of carrying an “open secret” that it had millions of users under the age of 13, and that Instagram “routinely continued to collect” their personal information such as location without parental permission. The complaint stated that within the company, Meta’s actual knowledge that millions of Instagram users were under the age of 13 was an “open secret” that was routinely documented, rigorously analyzed and confirmed, and zealously protected from disclosure to the public, according to a New York Times report. Last month, attorneys general from 33 states, including New York’s AG Letitia James, filed a lawsuit against Meta alleging that the tech giant designed harmful features contributing to the country’s youth mental health crisis. The lawsuit alleged Meta created addictive and “psychologically manipulative” features targeting young people while assuring the public falsely that the platform was safe to use. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem,” Ms James said. Meta’s spokesperson responded to the lawsuit, saying that the company was committed to providing teens with “safe, positive experiences online,” and that it had already introduced “over 30 tools to support teens and their families” such as age verification and preventing content promoting harmful behaviours. “We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path,” the spokesperson added. However, a significant portion of the evidence provided by the states was obscured from public view via redactions in the initial filing. The new unsealed complaint filed last week provided fresh insights from the lawsuit, including the accusation that Instagram “coveted and pursued” underage users for years and that Meta “continually failed” to make effective age-checking systems a priority. The lawsuit reportedly argued that Meta chose not to build effective systems to detect and exclude underage teen users, viewing them as a crucial next generation demographic it needed to capture. It also accused the tech giant of “automatically” ignoring some reports of under 13 users and allowing them to continue using the platform while knowing about such cases via the company’s internal reporting channels. The company responded that the now publicly revealed complaint “mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents.” It said verifying the ages of its users was a “complex” challenge especially with younger people who likely do not have IDs or licenses. Meta recently said it supports federal legislation requiring app stores to get parents’ approval whenever their teens under 16 download apps. “With this solution, when a teen wants to download an app, app stores would be required to notify their parents, much like when parents are notified if their teen attempts to make a purchase,” the company said. “Parents can decide if they want to approve the download. They can also verify the age of their teen when setting up their phone, negating the need for everyone to verify their age multiple times across multiple apps,” it said. The tech giant holds that the best solution to support young people is a “simple, industry-wide solution” where all apps are held to the same standard. “By verifying a teen’s age on the app store, individual apps would not be required to collect potentially sensitive identifying information,” Meta recently said. Read More Russia places Meta spokesperson on wanted list Meta to allow users to delete Threads accounts without losing Instagram Nasa has received a signal from 10 million miles away Nasa has received a signal from 10 million miles away Elon Musk set to meet Netanyahu and hostage families in Israel Elon Musk weighs in on Dublin riots claiming country’s PM ‘hates the Irish people’