Tóibín on Meta cuts: “The Irish tech sector is in big trouble – AI is like nuclear power and needs to be regulated at a global level.”
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín says the loss of 350 Irish-based jobs at Facebook parent company Meta shows AI is an enormous threat that needs UN regulation.
The Meath West TD said: “It is the objective of big tech to shed thousands of jobs. AI is the reason for these losses, it’s been reported.
“AI is an enormous threat and it is not being taken seriously. It is like nuclear power in terms of its effects. It needs to be regulated at a UN level.
“We are highly exposed here in Ireland, there is no doubt. But the Government’s attitude so far seems to be: “Ah sure it’ll be grand.”
Said Tóibín: “AI is set to change the Irish economy in profound ways. We are already seeing it, with Meta one of the state’s largest multinational employers, being hit by a 20% workforce cut.
“The AI revolution will have a severe effect on the Irish economy, with the most educated workers in the top-paying jobs hammered by it.
“With Ireland heavily reliant on multinational tech firms for employment and tax revenue, the scale of Meta’s latest cuts—and the wider shift towards AI— intensifies the need for debate about the future stability of the sector and its workforce.
“It’s one of the biggest issues looming over all of our futures is AI and yet it gets so little attention in this Dáil.
“This administration – like most governments across the world – has provided practically no democratic oversight or regulation to the development of AI at all.
“AI is like nuclear power. It could be a force for good but it could also do enormous damage. It is such a powerful tool and has so many possibly damaging ramifications.
“And like nuclear power, unless there is an international agreement on its control, the tech oligarchs will run with it.”
