Microsoft President Brad Smith has called for greater guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI).
Mr Smith told RTÉ News that there should be more requirements around incident reporting.
“It means that if there’s an AI agent that hacks its way into somebody’s network, there ought to be a legal duty to tell that person,” the Microsoft President said.
“It means there ought to be a safety brake, to be able to slow it down or turn it off.
“I do think we need to build up the capabilities of governments to evaluate and test AI to make sure it’s safe.
“We don’t want to get in the way of innovation. We don’t want to slow it down more than it should be to keep it safe. And we don’t want so-called regulatory capture. It should be run in a way that is really impartial.
“But we do need more guardrails than we have right now,” Mr Smith said.
Asked if it is not up to the tech firms, rather than Governments, to ensure AI products are safe, Mr Smith said the first and highest responsibility lies with the companies.
On concerns of the AI bubble bursting, the Microsoft president said it is something that any well-managed company has to think about.
“You can have a recession, and you may end up with more capacity, but what you can’t afford is to have more debt than you can service and if you look at Microsoft, we’re very focussed on being financially disciplined and responsible,” he said.
Microsoft is one of the biggest energy users in Ireland because of its data centres and there are major concerns over the environmental impact of such facilities.
“Well, I think it’s just critical that economic growth, that infrastructure investments, that technology growth and broader environmental considerations, all be addressed together,” he said.
“I think Ireland really stands out as a country that has both benefitted from these data centre and broader technology investments, and a country that has focussed on how to grow its electricity grid.
“I do think one of the most promising things for Ireland’s future is the opportunity for offshore wind.”
Microsoft is one of the biggest contributors to Ireland’s bumper corporate tax take making it a vital source of income for the Government.
The company has been in Ireland for more than 40 years.
“I would say Ireland is Microsoft’s home in Europe,” Mr Smith said.
“It’s been an extraordinary partnership, and I think it has been good for Microsoft and it’s been good for Ireland.
“It’s really reshaped the history of the tech sector in Europe and the history of the Irish economy.
“It continues, I think, to be at the foundation of everything we’re doing, not just in Ireland, but for Europe as a whole.
“We are here to stay,” he added.
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The Microsoft president is in Ireland for the International AI Summit which takes place in Dublin tomorrow as part of Ireland’s EU Presidency.
