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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Dublin in November. Tom Honan/PA Wire/PA Images

Varadkar warns that robots and artificial intelligence pose risk to people's jobs

The Taoiseach has said many professions could be affected, meaning people will need to upskill and retrain.

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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    Mute Briscoe Sundara
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    Mar 15th 2021, 10:36 PM

    Didn’t get far into the article before I got the general gist. Doxxing is perfectly acceptable to one side and not the other…guess which side.

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    Mute Dermot Dinan
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    Mar 16th 2021, 9:38 AM

    @Briscoe Sundara: It is inconceivable that whoever wrote that dross cannot see how bad it is. There’s a paragraph there near the start that try’s to justify Far Left Vs Far Right Doxxing….. Ultimately it says……..

    Far Left Doxxing….. Gooooood, because they’re harassing people on the far right….!!!

    Far Right Doxxing….. Baaad… because they’re harassing people on the far left….!!!

    Can we not all agree…. that you’ll all nuts…. The Nazi’s\racists on the far right and the loons on the far left like the author.

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    Mute Peter Bell
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    Mar 15th 2021, 9:30 PM

    You would need a Pint after reading that carry on.

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    Mute Ned Gerblansky
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    Mar 15th 2021, 10:46 PM

    @Gerard: well this is awkward, didn’t really take long to find one Irish account. https://mobile.twitter.com/antifa_drone

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    Mute Gerard
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    Mar 15th 2021, 10:21 PM

    @An Breasláin Nua: where, specifically, are the people on the left approving of doxxing in any significant number?

    On the other hand, the far right approval is right here…

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    Mute Ned Gerblansky
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    Mar 16th 2021, 9:30 AM

    My comment linking an example of an Irish far left account openly doxxing people on Twitter was removed… The bias here is very concerning.

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    Mute Ned Gerblansky
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    Mar 15th 2021, 11:02 PM

    I think the cut and paste nature of right wing politics from the UK is the main reason it remains on the fringes here. It is extremely sympathetic to imperialism and loyalism, a deal breaker as this is at odds with the views of the vast majority of Irish people who would otherwise agree with others elements e.g. anti abortion.

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    Mute GOOПΞɌΛDΛM
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    Mar 16th 2021, 8:14 AM
    19
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    Mute Rochelle
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    Mar 15th 2021, 10:43 PM

    “the far-right in Ireland is effectively a “copy and paste” groups in the US and Europe. ”

    Very well described! It’s so pathetic how many of them don’t even understand the very basics of Irish politics.
    One of their favourite mantras when they found themselves with a brown taoiseach was to claim he was “unelected” because they could only equate leadership with american style presidential contests.

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    Mute John Lynch
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    Mar 19th 2021, 12:51 PM

    The liberal consensus is creating opposition which it has labelled ‘Far – Right’.
    The leaders might be opportunists looking for a cause and they are finding support from men who are reacting to being vilified, shouted down and discriminated against.

    However the ‘liberal consensus is also well populated by opportunists and as they say “it takes one to know one”.

    There is an economic concept, called the law of diminishing returns in play here. When you have got more than you ever asked for don’t start coming up with new “asks” and historical grievances as supporting facts.

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    Mute Fergal Cussen
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    Mar 15th 2021, 11:24 PM

    The Catholic Church might have been a focal point for earlier generations but it doesn’t have the moral authority that it used to.

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    Mute Fergal Cussen
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    Mar 15th 2021, 11:40 PM

    This was meant to be a response to Ned Gerblansky’s post above.

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