279. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Defence the usage of artificial intelligence within her Department; the categories of usage; the usage of artificial intelligence within any bodies under the aegis of her Department; the categories of usage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57221/26]

In line with the National AI Strategy and the Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Service, my Department, and the bodies under its aegis, are actively exploring opportunities to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support business operations and service delivery.

At present, the approved AI tools in use within my Department, and bodies under its aegis, are Microsoft Copilot Chat and an internally developed AI-powered Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) tool.

My Department's core IT infrastructure is provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) under the Build to Share Managed Desktop Shared Service. In this context, Microsoft Copilot Chat is made available to departmental staff through the shared service environment and is used in accordance with departmental policies, Government guidance and mandatory training requirements.

Accordingly, the current categories of AI use within my Department, and bodies under its aegis, include:

• Research, drafting and summarisation;

• Knowledge management and information retrieval; and

• Access to and querying of internal departmental documentation

My Department will continue to assess opportunities presented by AI technologies while ensuring that any adoption is undertaken in a secure, responsible and ethical manner and in accordance with Government policy, public service guidance and all relevant legal and regulatory requirements.