“I have a growing sense that everything I’ve learned over the last 30 years has led me to this place and to this moment.”
That was how Jony Ive – former chief design officer at Apple and the creative mind behind the iPhone, iPad and the iMac – described his latest chapter: the announcement that OpenAI is acquiring his AI hardware venture, io, in a deal reportedly worth $6.5 billion (€5.7 billion).
The pace and scale of developments in AI is now staggering. The OpenAI/io deal is just one high-profile example in a surge of breakthroughs. Google has released a suite of new AI-powered tools. Elon Musk’s xAI launched a new version of its Grok chatbot. And the United States announced its $500 billion “stargate” project to boost national AI capabilities.
These examples underscore just how rapidly AI is advancing, not only in terms of technical capacity but also in how it is embedding itself into the fabric of our daily lives.
What makes the OpenAI/io acquisition particularly significant isn’t just the companies involved – though OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is the front-runner in generative AI. It signals a new phase, where AI moves beyond software into physical products and spaces.
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Ive’s design ethos, combined with OpenAI’s technological muscle, reflects a belief in a future where AI is not just a tool; it’s a companion. It’s a bold bet, underwritten by deep expertise.
On the other side of the Atlantic, in an altogether different setting, another AI moment was unfolding. The new Oireachtas convened its first committee on AI.
The committee’s formation reflects growing awareness of AI’s impact on employment, public services and democratic processes. Chairman Malcolm Byrne has acknowledged both the opportunities and risks of AI, distinguishing himself from the doom-laden narratives often found in public debate.
He has emphasised AI’s potential to transform public services, foster innovation and unlock new industries. The committee is tasked with exploring these dynamics, gathering expert input and making legislative and policy recommendations.
How the committee’s work unfolds will be telling, especially given how complex the AI landscape is and how difficult collaboration between governments, regulators and innovators can be.
Two cultures, one challenge
What’s already clear is that those building AI and those trying to govern it often come from two very different cultures.
Technologists like OpenAI’s Sam Altman operate in an ecosystem defined by velocity, capital and exponential thinking. They believe that AI will reshape every sector – not if, but when. With access to some of the world’s best minds and deep-pocketed investors, they operate on timelines measured in months, not years.
Politicians, by contrast, are bound by public accountability, consensus and election cycles. Where technologists see exciting possibilities, politicians often see risk: to trust, to jobs, to social cohesion – and to their own positions.
Take education. AI’s rise is generating genuine concern: attention spans, cheating and institutional readiness are all under scrutiny. In Ireland, reforms to Leaving Certificate English and accounting syllabuses, incorporating oral, creative writing and applied assessments – tangible responses to this new reality – are now likely delayed by 12 months, partly due to concerns about operational preparedness.
[ Teachers are being bullied into accepting reforms that will damage educationOpens in new window ]
Where AI’s creators focus on what’s possible, policymakers tilt towards the permissible. As Tony Blair noted in his book, Leading, regulation “gives the illusion of control”. Reform, on the other hand, requires courage, stepping into the unknown, taking risks and trusting systems outside your direct line of command.
This tension isn’t theoretical. It’s a practical, crystallising conundrum. If AI does even half of what its creators claim it will, we’re on the cusp of a societal shift not seen since the Industrial Revolution.
Among the most difficult questions being asked are: will entire job categories be replaced?; does it ultimately trigger a move from earned income to universal basic income?; what happens to purpose, identity, and mental health when work is no longer central to daily life?
These aren’t questions Silicon Valley is built to answer. Nor are they easily resolved in parliamentary committee rooms. But they must be answered.
While concerns about unchecked AI adoption are valid, the technology also offers transformational solutions, especially in areas where urgency and complexity collide, such as infrastructure and healthcare.
Take the UK, where AI is already being deployed in the NHS to speed up diagnostics, triage patients more efficiently and shorten waiting times. In infrastructure, the UK’s Planning Inspectorate is trialling AI to process applications faster and address bottlenecks in housing approvals. These examples show AI’s real potential to cut through bureaucratic delays, meet recruitment challenges and improve public delivery, something most citizens would welcome.
With Ireland facing growing pressure on State services and a push to drive the digital economy, AI presents both a significant risk and a powerful opportunity. Excessive caution risks stagnation, innovation unchecked risks exclusion.
Bridging the gap
AI isn’t waiting. The decisions we make now on how we design, govern, implement and evolve with this technology will shape not just the future of work, but the future of meaning. How we arrive at them need not be binary. It’s not about rejecting change, it’s about understanding its implications.
Silicon Valley hasn’t always earned the benefit of the doubt, so caution is both reasonable and responsible. Technologists will need to understand the human, ethical and societal implications of what they’re building.
For their part, policymakers will need to engage more proactively, beyond regulation, to reform and reimagine public systems and business operations. Civil society will need to be involved.
Can the culture gap between AI’s creators and its custodians can be bridged? Like everything with AI, we won’t have to wait long to find out.
Dan Pender is a business founder, public relations consultant and former government adviser.
