Citing a deepfake video that depicted then presidential candidate Catherine Connolly withdrawing from the election days before the public cast their votes, Abeba Birhane said such technology can “erode the foundations of democratic life”. Describing the video as a “high-stakes” example, Birhane noted it amassed tens of thousands of views on Facebook before it was removed by Meta. The assistant professor of AI and director of Trinity’s AI Accountability Lab told committee members that as the AI industry, social media and search platforms grow “less trustworthy”, they erode the “foundations of democratic life” such as trust and accountability. “Yet their algorithms remain opaque, their governance remains private, with minimal democratic accountability to the public who depend on them,” she said. Jakubowska said she shared Gibney’s concerns, adding: “One of our key demands for the AI Act implementation across the member states has been for market surveillance authorities to be completely independent.

Source: The Irish Times February 17, 2026 18:41 UTC