2023. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection the usage of artificial intelligence within his Department; the categories of usage; the usage of artificial intelligence within any bodies under the aegis of his Department; the categories of usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57232/26]

My Department has established an Innovation Hub to assess and evaluate the potential future use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to support the work of the Department in a safe and secure manner.

An AI Chatbot on the MyGovID platform is currently in use, providing real-time advice to customers on how best to use the MyGovID service. As part of an internal review of Microsoft Office services in the Department, a small number of users are piloting an upgrade, which includes limited integration of A.I tools within the suite as standard.

A small-scale trial is underway focusing on using AI for general knowledge tasks, such as summarising content and searching for information, but not for drafting official documents. All outputs are subject to human oversight and are reviewed and validated by the relevant officers before use.

Use of AI in my Department is governed by the national and EU public service strategies and guidelines including the National Digital and AI Strategy, Digital Ireland – Connecting our People Securing our Future and the Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Service.

Information on use of AI by agencies under the aegis of my Department is set out below:

The Citizens Information Board (CIB) have used AI to launch an AI-powered chatbot, called AskCI, that helps users of citizens information.ie find information on public services and entitlements in Ireland. It uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology and content only from the website to respond to user questions. The chatbot is designed to support people using citizensinformation.ie and direct them to related information. It is one of several ways to get information, alongside our website content, the Citizens Information Phone Service and local Citizens Information Centres. CIB are also trialing the use of Microsoft CoPilot internally.

The Pensions Authority currently uses two artificial intelligence (AI) tools in support of administrative and operational functions. The AI tools currently approved for use within the Authority are Microsoft Copilot and a training and knowledge capture AI solution. Categories of usage includes (a) productivity and administrative support, including drafting, summarising and reviewing documents and other work-related content (Microsoft Copilot) and (b) creation of user guides, training materials and process documentation.

The use of AI within the Authority is governed by internal policies and procedures relating to data protection, information security, transparency, human oversight and responsible use of AI. AI-generated outputs are subject to human review and verification before use.

AI is not currently used by the Pensions Council, the Social Welfare Tribunal or NAERSA.