Newsletter 2: The PfG, AI, and Policy in a Shifting Landscape

A few issues caught my eye this week, involving change of various types. The postponement of the Programme for Government (PfG) is type of unexpected change that keeps press officers awake at night. It may have been politically contentious, but I think there are strong benefits to it. Beyond the PfG, this week’s policy landscape includes the AI Advisory Council’s recommendations for Ireland, the role of employee ownership in scaling businesses, and greater recognition for RegTech. Meanwhile, I found a simple 1-page explanation around how the EU AI Act will impact on NI businesses, and the investigation into a once soaring AI firm makes for absorbing reading in the Irish Times.

The PfG postponement was a good thing

The PfG was shelved this week, but I think there was at least one incredibly important reason for doing so.?

A while ago, I was involved in a project designed to bring AI/NLP tools into the consultation analysis and policy-making process. A very good innovation project too with lots of potential.?

In examining the issue, we spoke with experts in the delivery of public consultations. It became clear that one of the challenges around the consultations process is that any decision that flows from it can be subject to judicial review IF due cognisance has not been paid to the consultation responses. Or in other words you should be prepared to demonstrate that you were listening.??

The Gunning Principles are now accepted as legal foundation from which the legitimacy of public consultations derive. The fourth principle is that ‘conscientious consideration’ must be given to the consultation responses before a decision is made. Decision-makers should be able to provide evidence that they took consultation responses into account.

If they can’t provide evidence, m’learned friends will want a word.?

Putting ourselves into the shoes of the DAERA Minister for a moment… up until just a few hours before the publication of the PfG (according to media reports), Andrew Muir had not seen public feedback from the 1,400 people who participated in 70 consultation events, nor read any of the 874 to the online survey responses, nor acquainted himself with any of the 501 written responses.

As these were sight unseen prior to the signing off the PfG, arguably anything relating to DAERA within the PfG may be open to challenge.??

There may be myriad political reasons sitting behind Andrew Muir’s decision, but by ensuring that he can now take “conscientious consideration” to the public response he protects himself and his department from problems down the line.

PS.?

On the PfG, the Executive Office tells us to expect immediate priorities including:

• Grow a Globally Competitive and Sustainable Economy;
• Deliver More Affordable, Accessible, High Quality Early Learning and Childcare;
• Cut Health Waiting Times;
• Ending Violence Against Women and Girls;
• Better Support for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs;
• Provide More Social, Affordable and Sustainable Housing;
• Safer Communities;
• Protecting Lough Neagh and the Environment; and
• Reform and Transformation of Public Services.

All of these have to some degree been subject of an SBRI in the past - Lough Neagh and Violence Against Women and Girls are the most recent. I personally would like to see wider use of the SBRI to procure more innovation into public sector delivery issues.?

I’m also a huge fan of the Cluster Acceleration Programme - my hope is that whatever is contained in the PfG next week, clustering will be recognised as a “what matters most” endeavour and continue unmolested.?

AI Advisory Council in Ireland

End of last week, Ireland's AI Advisory Council published 6 recommendations on shaping Ireland's AI future. [Press release is here.]

These are the elements that caught my eye:

• government should invest in the development of a real-time, publicly available ‘AI Observatory’ that delivers data and insights on a wide range of AI metrics such as labour market dynamics, capital flows, skills development, quality of life enhancement, complementary innovations, public attitudes and much more.?
• create something similar to STATION F https://stationf.co/; a business incubator in Paris and said to be the world's largest startup facility. And which also played a prominent role in the AI Summit last month.
• government should fully integrate AI into its operations for streamlined public services. This is something that's well advanced in NI via the @SBRI programme [like this https://lnkd.in/e4Y4_J-X & this https://lnkd.in/eBxX4TtD], and is one area where we may have some lessons to share.
• the final piece was that Ireland should establish an 'AI Energy Council' to ensure necessary measures are taken to rapidly develop clean energy capacity, while transitioning from fossil fuels and winning public trust. With UK gov accepting bids for AI Growth Zones (one criteria for which being demonstration of a clear pathway toward creating 500MW of energy infrastructure), it would surely be in Northern Ireland's interest to input into the work of this council, if not request participation in it.

Employee Ownership as part of the solution to our productivity and scaling problems?

A very good piece by Mark O'Toole in Silicon Republic. He discusses the success of Irish start-ups despite economic uncertainties, urging the government to match their ambition and address structural issues.?

The problem he diagnoses is that the Irish state is geared for FDIs but lacks urgency when it comes to developing the indigenous economy.

So what does he suggest that government could do to match our “lean, hyper-focused on mission and creating meaningful products while monastically eschewing distractions to company growth”?

He highlights the need for better stock option rules and, interestingly, employee ownership policies.?

The latter is doing the rounds across the north at the moment.?

Wrapping up last Friday, Employee Ownership Ireland held events in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Newry, and Mid Ulster, bringing together business owners, accountants, and advisors to explore Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs).?

There’s a very thorough FAQ on it here. The programme aims to create 10,000 employee owners by 2029.?

Given Northern Ireland’s huge problems around productivity, employee ownership could be a very useful tool in addressing both this and attracting the right talent for scaling.

Choreography on RegTech continues

Last month I noted the very nice choreography between Matrix, The Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel , Invest Northern Ireland and City of London Corporation around the possibilities for our #RegTech sector.

The global RegTech market is booming, from $10.8bn in 2022 to $35.2bn by 2028, with Belfast leading per capita employment in RegTech - especially in FinTech and cybersecurity.?

Now Innovate Finance has launched RegTech UK, an initiative aimed at strengthening the UK's position in regulatory technology. Here’s the launch release.

The EU AI Act and Northern Ireland

The EU AI Act came into force last summer. As an aside there an interesting piece of correspondence between the NI Secretary and the Chair of the NI Committee. For anyone who wants to know how the EU AI Act will affect companies here (me), and would like it explained in a simple, concise way (me also), then this letter from Hilary Benn is worth reading.?

What else I’m reading…

The investigation into collapsed AI firm Altada is capturing headlines in the south. According to reports in the Irish Times, liquidators have raised concerns about the directors' conduct, including potential misuse of funds and failure to discharge fiduciary taxes. Revenue has submitted a claim against Altada for more than €2.1 million, and a separate garda investigation is ongoing. The total deficit to shareholders and creditors is €21 million.

On its way up, the company could count on goodwill at the highest level - to the extent that then Tánaiste Leo Varadkar got a piece of the press release announcing a €11.5million funding round. No doubt much to learn from this comprehensive fall from grace.