At the AI and Future of Work event held in Galway last Thursday night, one common theme was consistent across the presentations and discussions. Would Artificial Intelligence replace white collar work?
Despite the inclement weather, a crowd of over 200 people attended the event at the Human Biology building on the University of Galway campus. Experts across a wide spectrum of industries, academia and consulting provided their insights on a wide range of issues.
Former advisor to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Prof Alan Ahearne; award winning AI expert Marisa O’Shea of North; well-known technologist and broadcaster Jonathan McCre; globally renowned expert in natural language processing Prof. Paul Buitelaar (UG ); and Pharma/ Med-Tech expert Bill Hennessy of Johnson & Johnson, all contributed some fascinating insights into how AI is penetrating all facets of our daily lives.
The event organiser, Dr Alan O Sullivan of Priya Wealth Management opened the event with a presentation covering the future of consultancy roles including advisory services, tax and legal advice.
Jonathan McCrea followed with an important presentation about authenticity in this new world of AI. Ivan Yates marshalled proceedings masterfully navigating AI’s implementation in new cancer drug treatments, policy implications at government level, fraud and payments and the impact of AI on traditional white-collar work.
Organisers of the event are currently summarising the key takeaways and will be circulating to all attendees. Priya WM would like to thank all the expert speakers. Special thanks also to Asst. Professor Cian Twomey (University of Galway ) for helping to organise this free event.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Alan O’Sullivan, MD of Priya WM said he always enjoys returning to his alma mater.
“This was a very special event with a large audience turning out despite some very poor weather conditions. From my perspective, the adoption of AI is irreversible.
“However, any system that does not incorporate the subtlety of human experience or nuance of shared emotions will not work. Automation may disrupt certain tasks, but it will not replace humans,” he said.
