Irish UN director on AI 'risk, opportunity' for elections

An Irish woman leading the UN electoral assistance department has said AI poses a range of risks and opportunities for elections worldwide and that it connects to the wider conversation around AI governance.

Michèle Griffin, who grew up in Dublin and Louth, has worked at the UN for three decades - somewhere she dreamed of working "since I realised such a thing existed".

Before becoming the director of her department, Ms Griffin started out as an intern, then worked with successive secretaries-general "helping them to think about the big picture".

As she reflected on her career - this week marked her 30th UN General Assembly - she said she often has to pinch herself as she feels so "privileged" to work in an organisation full of people "trying to make the world a better place".

In her current position, Ms Griffin could be assisting 50 countries with their elections at any one time.

"It can run the gamut from the logistics, helping countries with the participation challenges, especially for women, minority communities, disadvantaged people, and people with disabilities," she told RTÉ News.

"We get a lot of requests now for help with information integrity, and making sure that both the risks and opportunities of technology are handled well, and in a way that preserves public trust in the election and preserves a credible election."

AI governance was a big topic of discussion during High-Level Week at UNGA.

Ms Griffin said it is an issue she is engaging with election management bodies on around the world.

"We are figuring out where AI can be helpful, but, of course, we have to be very aware of the ways in which it can, even inadvertently, hurt trust, undermine credibility, make people question elections, make people worry about their data and how it's used and exposed," she said.

"And, of course, there are bad actors who can use AI to undermine elections, and we're seeing a huge amount of that already happening around the world."

She added: "It connects to the bigger conversations around global governance of AI. What should the guard rails be? How do we put safeguards in place?"

But, fundamentally, Ms Griffin said that principles of a credible election have not changed at all.

Another talking point from UNGA was about UN reform and where the UN fits into the future landscape.

When asked about the next stage of the UN, Ms Griffin pointed to a sign on a window in her office that says 'future'.

"If you didn’t have the UN, you’d have to invent it," she said.

"In a world where most problems can't be solved within national borders, more than ever you need a place where countries can come together, and not just countries, but all sorts of civil society, all sorts of actors who have in their power to solve problems, that they would come together to one place and talk about how to solve those problems together.

"I’m personally, obviously, a true believer in that and have been convinced of it, and have given my entire career to trying to make that happen."