Dermot Desmond is both right and wrong that AI will supersede MetroLink
Dermot Desmond
's suggestion that we scrap
MetroLink
and put the money
into artificial intelligence-based solutions
to Dublin's transport needs. The measure favoured by the billionaire is self-driving cars or autonomous vehicles, as they are known.
The idea that we can use technology to leapfrog a decades-old problem – such as
Dublin
's transport woes – is in line with the techno-utopian narrative talked up by the likes of
Mark Zuckerberg
,
Elon Musk
and
Jeff Bezos
. This doesn't make Desmond wrong, but for some people, it is all the reason they need to dismiss the idea out of hand.
At the same time, it would be a rash move for the Government to abandon a project (estimated to cost €23 billion) based on proven technology and instead bet the farm on an AI-based alternative that doesn't exist. It's a bit like El Salvador deciding to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. That did not work out too well despite all the crypto bros who said it was the way to financial stability.
The easiest argument – but probably the weakest one – to make against Desmond's idea is the one outlining that the technology doesn't actually exist. There may be no example of a city with a public transport system comprised of AI-controlled autonomous vehicles, but it's not hard to see how there could be one developed and operating by 2035, which is when the MetroLink is due to start running.
READ MORE
The World Economic Forum – the people behind the annual Davos CEO gabfest -predicts that fleets of robo-taxis will be operating at scale in 40 to 80 cities by then. 'China and the US are expected to dominate the roll-out in cities, with Europe and the Middle East also emerging opportunities,' they suggest.
There will also be a significant number of autonomous trucks in operation by then, although fully self-driving cars will take longer, they predict. Progress will be determined by consumer trust, prices, technology and regulatory obstacles as well as the need for scale.
You can get into a debate about Dublin's capability to meet these criteria. Equally, one can question if the things holding back infrastructure projects – planning in particular – will also militate against the introduction of a public transport system in Dublin based on autonomous vehicles. But the salient point is that the technology will be a reality and Desmond's suggestion if far from fanciful.
Dermot Desmond believes MetroLink is not the answer to Dublin's transport issues. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
A more powerful argument against going down this route is a fundamental one about the power struggle between governments and technology companies that have their economies by the throat. It is currently playing out across all developed democracies as these behemoths seek to shape the regulatory and business environments in their favour, often with the willing assistance of politicians.
To date, none of these companies have demonstrated any conception of their responsibility to society and the need to exercise their power in the wider interest. Their overriding imperative remains generating bigger profits. That in turn reflects the libertarian ethos permeating the financial ecosystem that lies behind them.
There have been many books written about the nature of this hyper-capitalism and the innovation it has spawned. However, the bottom line is clear here. If you were worried about Transport for Ireland franchising out some bus routes in Dublin to private companies, you had better hang on to your hat if robo-taxis arrive.
A metro that should have been built 30 years ago is not the solution to Dublin's transport problem, but it is part of it
The prospect of the entire Dublin transport system being in the hands of some sort of Tesla-cum-ChatGPT conglomerate owning and operating autonomous vehicles should fill you with dread.
You would have to seriously question the ability of the Government to oversee – and regulate in the public interest – an AI-based public transport system operated by entities sharing an ethical framework and sense of public accountability with big tech companies.
There isn't much chance of them being hauled in front of the Oireachtas transport committee to perform a mea culpa over robo-ghostbuses.
Hopefully, the reality will be a little more prosaic. There is no real need for a binary decision between AI and MetroLink. A metro that should have been built 30 years ago is not the solution to Dublin's transport problem, but it is part of it. AI will also be part of the solution.
The trains that we have been told will run every three minutes at peak times on MetroLink have probably not even been designed yet, but it seems inconceivable that AI will not be involved in managing and operating them. Likewise, the other transport services that will connect to MetroLink – and elsewhere – are all obvious candidates for the use of autonomous vehicle technology.
Desmond is neither right nor wrong about MetroLink versus AI, but what he has done is prompt us to raise our ambition for what can be achieved far above simply building a metro.
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Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, August 16th: In defence of the Angelus, SUVs, and worshipping Oasis
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Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Irish passengers stranded in Canada due to cabin crew strike
Some 200 Air Canada passengers on a flight to Dublin have been stranded at Toronto airport as a result of an impending strike. More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants are due to walk off the job as of 7am Irish time on Saturday. The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents cabin crew, rejected Air Canada's latest contract offer as inadequate. Among their demands are that cabin crew be paid for the time they are on the ground preparing for flights. Some 98 per cent of flight attendants have voted for strike action READ MORE Consequently, Air Canada has already cancelled 500 flights due to take off, as the planes and crew may be stranded overseas if and when the strike happens. The dispute is over pay and conditions. Air Canada AC800 flight to Dublin was due to take off at 8.40pm local time in Canada and arrive in Dublin at 8.15am on Saturday. Passengers on the flight were sent a message from the carrier to state that their system had looked for flight options on more than 120 carriers and found nothing available. Passenger Miren McDonald at Pearson Airport in Toronto where a strike by Air Canada crew has brought many flights to a halt. Passenger Miren McDonald said she and the other Dublin-bound passengers have been given no offer of accommodation and there is nobody to speak to at the airport. All the passengers have received is a voucher worth CA$15 (€9.28) from Air Canada. Ms McDonald said she feared that she and the other passengers would not be able to leave until the end of next week, as there are few scheduled flights to Ireland from Canada. 'We have been offered no help.'
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
European markets fall back as they await outcome of summit on Ukraine
European shares came off multi-month highs on Friday, as declines in heavyweight tech and financial shares offset gains from some corporate earnings. Meanwhile, investors monitored a crucial summit between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. Investors hope the meeting could pave the way for a resolution of the Ukraine war, which has raged since February 2022. Dublin The Dublin market ended the week on a positive note, closing up half a per cent. Financial stocks were mixed on the day, with AIB and Bank of Ireland both edging lower by almost half a per cent each, while Permanent TSB was flat and insurer FBD gained 2.5 per cent to close at €14.35. READ MORE Food groups Kerry and Glanbia were both marginally lower, with Kerry down 0.13 per cent and Glanbia shedding 0.14 per cent. Insulation specialist Kingspan ended the week 1.7 per cent higher. Travel stocks rose, with Ryanair up 1.7 per cent and closing the day at €26.75. Shares in ferries group Irish Continental gained 1.45 per cent, closing the week at €5.60. London The FTSE 100 fell back after hitting a new all-time high to close lower on Friday. This was amid caution ahead of the US-Russia peace summit, hints of more tariffs and weak US consumer sentiment. The index closed down 38.34 points, 0.4 per cent, at 9,138.90. It had earlier reached an all-time intra-day high of 9,222.07. The FTSE 250 ended down 43.43 points, 0.2 per cent, at 21,758.24, and the AIM All-Share finished 0.86 of a point higher, 0.1 per cent, at 759.80. On the FTSE 100, mining stocks rose despite weak data from China. Anglo American rose 2.1 per cent, Glencore climbed 1.8 per cent and Antofagasta 1.2 per cent on hopes the soft figures will spark action from Chinese authorities. On a quiet day for company news, Associated British Foods ended up 0.2 per cent after confirming the acquisition of Hovis Group from private equity firm Endless. AB Foods plans to combine Hovis with its existing Allied Bakeries division to create a 'profitable UK bread business that is sustainable over the long term'. Europe The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.1 per cent lower, after hitting a near five-month high earlier in the session. Aerospace and defence stocks fell 0.8 per cent ahead of the US-Russia summit on Ukraine. Technology stocks fell 0.6 per cent, weighing on the STOXX 600 index. ASML, the world's biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, fell 1 per cent after US peer Applied Materials lowered its fourth-quarter earnings forecast due to weak demand in China and impacts from tariff uncertainty. The Dutch firm had issued a similar warning in mid-July, saying it might not achieve its 2026 growth forecast. Chip stocks BE Semiconductor and ASMI dropped 3.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. Healthcare shares, which have taken a beating this year from uncertainty around Trump's pharma tariffs, were on track for a recovery. The healthcare index logged its seventh consecutive session of gains, its longest streak since late January. Regional bourses were mixed, with Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE declining, while France's CAC and Spain's IBEX posted gains. New York The Dow hit a record high earlier in the session, becoming the last of Wall Street's main indexes to soar to a new peak. Benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were losing ground, dragged down by technology, utilities and financials stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.25 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.36 per cent. Shares in Intel jumped more than 2 per cent by lunchtime on Friday, following a 7 per cent bounce the previous day, after reports that the Trump administration had discussed an unusual move to acquire an ownership stake as part of a plan to revive the troubled US chipmaker. Shares of UnitedHealth Group surged more than 13 per cent on Friday after billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought five-million shares of the company, providing a shot in the arm for investors who think the health conglomerate will turn around under its new CEO. - Additional reporting: Reuters, PA
