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LEO VARADKAR HAS warned that robots and artificial intelligence (AI) pose a risk to people’s jobs.
When asked about how this could impact workers in Ireland, the Taoiseach said most jobs are “vulnerable to digitalisation or automatisation”, adding: “The important thing now is that we think ahead.
“Almost anyone in employment at all levels could potentially lose their jobs as a result of AI, robotics or automation.
“Even some jobs done by doctors – looking at slides could well be done by machines much more accurately using machine-learning and AI so it’s jobs at absolutely all levels that can be affected by changes in technology.”
Varadkar then joked: “I’m not sure if we’ll have artificial intelligence to replace TDs and Senators or robot ministers, who knows. You get accused of being robotic sometimes.”
Drivers
The Taoiseach noted that about 16% of men in the country drive for a living – including as taxi drivers, bus drivers, train drivers and delivery drivers.
He said if this type of work is automated “that would change that whole world of going to work”.
Varadkar said rather than giving people a grant or financial assistance to go back to college or retrain if their jobs are taken, the government would “try to do something quite different which is in-workforce training, supporting and incentivising employers to make sure their staff are upskilled”.
“During the recession, a huge focus on skills and training was around training unemployed people to get jobs. We’re not going to need to do as much of that anymore and the focus will change to training and upskilling people who are already in jobs to do new things,” he said.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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Will robots replace politicians & if so how SOON
@Gerry McAuliffe: just trying to imagine C3PO standing up in Dail Eireann waffling on about how great our country is doing.
@Gerry McAuliffe: i would be happy to have any intelligence in the Dail. Even artificial intelligence would be an improvement
Wonder would that affect his job
@Suzanne Bell: A clown could do his job!
@The Irish Bull: that’s insulting to clowns
@Fear Uisce: he is dead right here. Name calling won’t help you.
@The Irish Bull: a clown already is !
@The Irish Bull: a clown is doing his job!
@The Irish Bull: a clown is doing his job
Replacing TD’s and Ministers would be easy.
All one needs to do is for the robot to learn how to shake hands at funerals and to learn how to lie!
@Neil Harvey: and collect large brown envelopes stuffed with cash !!
Tax em Lieo.. That’s the FFG way ….
Fair play to him stating this. We are on the cusp of a tech revolution where millions of jobs will be lost but opportunities will be created out of these technologies for trained people. Politicians around the world need to be honest regarding this as there’ll be severe disruption globally with an increased chance of anarchy. Honesty is the best policy
@Mike Byrne: this is merely a propaganda piece to deflect from the nonsense he’s dribbled out recently. As for honestly none of these clowns could lay straight in bed.
@Martin Critten: I don’t put too much credence into what politicians say however the point I’m trying to make is job disruption is happening and what we need is honesty regarding this from global elected officials as the change will be dramatic
@Mike Byrne: fair enough, but wouldn’t put intelligence, honesty and Varadka in the same sentence. As for changing prospects for jobs AI will no doulbt be a quantum shift the fallout can only mean increased reliance on welfare for those left on the ever increasing margins.
@Mike Byrne: All the major technocrats, Zuckerburg, Gates, Musk and even Branson have identified the threat to jobs that AI and Robotics will bring however, their solution is to implement a Universal Living Wage not tell the entire population to retrain! He’s basically saying that’ll be our own fault if we’re out of work when major change like this should be managed at a political level particularly through the Dept. Of Education and Skills.
Can I ask what we’re supposed to retrain as if most jobs are being done by machine?
At least we are well prepared, our minister for eGovernment, Patrick O’Donovan, recently stated in a speech that he is a technophobe. The person in charge of driving forward the governments ICT services, doesn’t know anything about technology.
@Mick paisley: thats shocking, this guy is relatively young, he should have no excuses, another career politician with no worthwhile experience in anything.
@Mick paisley: most of them dont know ANYTHING about the ministries they are supposed to run – health ,housing ,education, welfare, environment – not one of them has a clue !! even when you put a qualified doctor in charge of health (varadkar,reilly ) -things get worse — useless pric*s the lot of them -
@Adrian: I was there when he made the speech, and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I know very little about the man, but as you say he is relatively young, probably under 40 if I had to guess. He hadn’t a clue what he was talking about, the speech was opening up an ICT conference, but he spent most of the time talking about politics and the day he got the call to become a minister.
Leo would have as much intelligence as an Atari 2600
@Damien Barton: He should be terminated.
Get rid of the spin Machine so Leo and start thinking for yourself.
Robots would make more humane decisions than Leo when he was health minister.
Will robots replace politicians
@Gerry McAuliffe: only if we remove any semblance of intelligence and replace it with greed !
I know a lot of people that are more worried about what the hell he will be up to next!
Irony. Isn’t he EU’s robot? He seems to follow orders whenever he gets them.
” Varadkar and his wealthy vulture funds pose risk to property owners” warn Robots…
An artificial intelligence would be more efficient and cost saving in the case of replacing Leo !
If companies invest in automation and ai and all the jobs are gone, who will buy their products / services? No job no money
@FartyTowels: It does seem an obvious drawback.
Can we vote for them??
Yes 100% he is right we are losing the run of our selves we will all be sitting at home because a lot of the work will be done by robots as it already is we need to put the brakes on these little fella’s
Robots would make better politicians and no need to pay them.
“You get accused of being robotic sometimes” said Leo before jumping the chasm betwixt two building roof tops in his shorts with a dove in his hand to watch Harrison Ford struggle for life
Make it law that every robot is assigned to a citizen. They are your robot, the robot earns a wage which goes to the owner, the state can get tax from the robot, people get a wage.
Put in measures for robot upgrades and solve any other issues that might arise.
We all dreamed that robots would do the work, not that everyone would have to compete with robots for work.
@Robert Dowling: oh come on ! half the country can’t even get a decent mobile phone signal or broadband connection – there zero chance of any irish government being able to implement anything as complicated as what your suggesting !!
Did someone give him Isaac Asimov books and Terminator Movies for Christmas?
I hope robots start replacing bus drivers because the humans ones on my route are rude, unfriendly, usually late and that’s if they turn up at all.
@Paul O Connor: Don’t worry. You’ll lose your job soon, too, to automation, so you won’t have any money to worry about who’s driving the bus.
Mist bus drivers are sound. Passengers, however…
If AI will take our jobs then the mass immigration that Leo has planned for Ireland will result in even larger levels of unemployment. Which means we need to close our borders.
Who would hv guessed
Leo I thought you were a robot doing the job.
Unfortunately Leo, it will be too late! The damage done by time AI takes your job!
Here we go again, pay for people to go back to college or retrain. Such a welfare state we have when people are led around and spoon fed and mollycoddled. God forbid any adult could make their own assessment and take it upon themselves to ensure their own employment is future proofed. Why would you when you can sit back so nothing and get paid as much and quite often more for doing nothing.
There is thing called social responsibility which I think Leo has failed to take into account. Without doubt AI has the potential to take over many jobs, the question is whether you allow this to happen.
Politicians, banks and Kildare street minions could also be replaced with Crypto. Check Dash, Bitcoin and IrishCoin. Blockchain can also replace the voting system.
We could replace the Dail with a system of having every citizen vote remotely…….But they made sure the first system was so flawed e-voting will never be trusted.
Quick tax it Leo.
We will not have to worry about that, any time soon. There will be no one left to replace, climate change will have wiped us all out.
He is right, the next 30-50 years will usher in a paradigm shift. If it’s not managed (assuming it can be) properly then think yellow vest protests times a few thousand.
What’s really scary about Leo’s sudden realisation is that a lot of people have been saying this for a very long time.
Dole robots, now that would be fun!
Do we not have robot politicians already
This guy is hilarious. After the election he should consider a career in Stand Up Comedy. Any Muppet could mismanaged a country, maybe a robot.
I fear the detached attitude of lovely Leo is a far bigger risk to people’s jobs and future.
What about one for kerry. “” biggle de biggle we need to drive faster and leave pubs open longer”,
This man has no concept of the real world or ordinary decent working people families live or work in this indebted nation.
This gobbledygook talk is just another distraction from the more recent claptrap we being hearing.
Scaremongering
@David Digan: I don’t know, all those sex robots will be taking the jobs off people and F.G. hasn’t legislated for that yet lol.
Look at the robots who get up early in the morning. Why can’t Irish people be more like them and not expecting pay
Very disappointed with this comment. If he’s highlighting a risk to something as important as jobs, why does he not point out what he or his government is doing to mitigate against that risk.
Automation may cost some jobs but opens up an opportunity for many others. We may lose some unskilled labour jobs in the process of automating but cost for services will drop. If we can support this with high skilled individuals and provide a support structure in this country for automated services, we’ll be more attractive as a market and a place to do business.
What they should do is go back to subsidising education in Engineering and tech skills so that we can provide a support.
Support Economics and business so we have the skilled people to direct industryand where investment needs to take place.
I had no idea how a culchie elected as teashot. It is time Leo “Vacant” get replaced from some with intelligence as some guys here says already.
Is this corrupt leech a robot. He is certainly unelected
So artificial intelligence pose risk to minister’s jobs???
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“Automatisation”? Why is he speaking French? Why would “Automation” not have sufficed here? Not fancy enough for Leo?
Simon Harris already uses Instagram and Twitter to run the Health Service
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