AI for Everyone?

AI for Everyone? A Critical Look at Ireland's AIready.ie Platform

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is constantly appearing in news headlines from warnings about job losses and ethical concerns, to fears about the unchecked power this technology could come to hold. Most of these stories center on large corporations, who despite these alarming headlines are simultaneously racing to embed AI deeper into their operations. They are doing this by investing heavily in upskilling their workforce through knowledge transfer initiatives, adopting tools such as Microsoft Copilot and structured reskilling programmes. A significant amount of resources, money and effort are being directed at preparing employees for an AI driven future. But if AI is truly a technology for everyone, what is being done for the ordinary person?

One answer from the Irish Government is AIready.ie, developed through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in partnership with the National Skills Council and SOLAS. The platform has been designed to provide people with access to AI skills for free. At the launch, Minister James Lawless announced that, "the AIready.ie initiative aims to upskill one million people in AI, representing one of the Government’s most ambitious responses to the rapid emergence and impact of artificial intelligence to date." It forms part of Ireland's National Digital and AI Strategy 2030, which aims to ensure all groups in society are supported and empowered to engage with digital technologies and AI. The primary focus of the online platform - which was launched shortly after the announcement of educating older adults, but is suitable for all users.

What is AIready.ie?

AIready.ie describes itself as a place to "learn the basics of AI for free, through easy, bite-sized lessons you can take anywhere." This aligns with the government's attempt at building AI literacy across the population. The EU AI Act defines AI literacy as "the skills, knowledge and understanding that allow people to make informed use of AI systems, while gaining awareness of both its opportunities and its risks." Currently, the platform offers four modules that are 20-30 minutes in length: “Getting Started with AI,” “Everyday AI”, “AI in Your Job,” and “AI to Support Your Career.”

Having completed the modules myself, I came away with the impression that the platform is less concerned with developing a critical understanding of AI and is instead focused on encouraging people to start using AI tools. AI literacy is not simply about knowing how to interact with AI tools; it is about understanding how their systems work, where their limitations lie and how they can affect individuals and society. Similar points raised in this blog post are echoed in a recent article in The Journal.

Teaching AI's Existence, Not Its Limitations

To begin, the Getting Started with AI module aims to demystify AI and demonstrate its everyday value. However, a surprising amount of time is spent explaining that tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini exist and walking users through the process of creating an account, despite the platform stating that an account is not strictly necessary to complete the exercises. The module also devotes considerable attention to prompt writing, providing guidance on how to structure prompts to achieve more effective outputs. While this is a useful and increasingly important skill, the level of attention given to it may be disproportionate for a module primarily intended to introduce users to the fundamentals and everyday applications of AI.

While the platform is intended for beginners and should not be expected to provide technical training, the module often oversimplifies several essential concepts. The platform defines AI as "the ability of a computer or machine to perform tasks requiring human intelligence," but little effort is made to explain how AI tools function, what role training data plays in shaping outputs or why AI systems can generate inaccurate information. As a result, learners are introduced to the capabilities of AI without receiving an adequate explanation of its limitations.

This is particularly problematic given the modules repeated emphasis on the importance of human judgement. Users are frequently reminded that outputs from AI should not always be accepted as fact, yet the course does not provide sufficient explanation of why this caution is necessary or what learners should look for when critically evaluating AI generated content. For example, the module fails to introduce the concept of AI hallucinations. Understanding that AI systems can produce information that appears convincing but is inaccurate is fundamental to using these technologies responsibly. Without this context, the repeated calls for human oversight risk coming across as generic disclaimers rather than contributing to a meaningful understanding of how to critically engage with AI tools.

More broadly, the platform dedicates only limited attention to topics such as responsible AI use, bias, environmental impacts and wider societal implications. These are topics that are central to contemporary debates about AI and should form a core part of any serious attempt at building a public understanding.

When is AI Actually Useful?

While AI tools may simplify certain tasks, the examples provided in the modules raise questions about whether the platform is genuinely aiming to provide practical guidance or is instead primarily encouraging greater use of AI tools. Many of the examples given, such as using AI to detect phishing emails or to help draft a reply to a message do not always demonstrate a clear or meaningful advantage over existing tools or approaches. While using AI to draft replies to messages is a legitimate and increasingly common thing, the platform does little to explain when AI would be preferable to more conventional methods. Similarly, asking AI to identify a potentially suspicious email may provide a useful starting point, but users could also rely on established email security features. Presenting these relatively straightforward tasks as key examples of AI’s practical value risks giving users an inflated sense of what AI adds rather than helping them understand where its use is genuinely beneficial.

Risk of AI in Sensitive Contexts

More concerning is the broader framing around health related use. Suggestions to use AI to interpret medication leaflets or to prepare questions for a doctor may be well intentioned, but they feel ill-judged given that the platform’s primary audience is older adults. A 2026 investigation by The Guardian found that Google’s AI summaries had provided misleading information about crucial liver function tests, with experts warning this could leave people with serious liver disease a false reassurance and potentially lead them to miss necessary follow up care. While AIready.ie does warn users not to upload personal medical documents, this caveat does little to address the more fundamental issue of accuracy. An AI system may produce an answer that appears clear and authoritative while lacking the context needed to determine whether that information is appropriate for a particular individual. This points to a tendency of the platform overselling AI capabilities, particularly in sensitive areas where accuracy and professional judgement are essential.

Accessibility Gaps

Finally, while the modules are designed to be accessible on mobile as well as desktop, any genuine effort at mobile optimisation appears superficial. When used on a smartphone, the font sizes are small, courses open in new tabs, and the overall experience is poor. Additionally, the platform assumes a certain level of digital literacy and computer skills, as users must set up an account to complete the course or download materials.

The platform does make some effort toward accessibility. Colour choices have been selected with sufficient contrast for visually impaired users and the site is compatible with assistive technologies such as BrowseAloud. Meeting basic accessibility compliance is the minimum expected of any public facing government website. What is harder to overlook is the absence of any language provision beyond English, including Irish. This is particularly notable for a government backed platform intended to promote digital and AI literacy across Ireland. A recent report from Údarás na Gaeltachta and EY highlights the significant opportunities for Irish language AI, including the development of conversational tools and AI applications for public services and education. The report emphasises the potential for these technologies to modernise and improve access to services through Irish, while ensuring that the language remains visible as AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life. AIready.ie therefore misses an opportunity to contribute to this broader effort and in general the National Digital and AI Strategy 2030 misses out as it predominantly focuses on English language systems. By providing its AI literacy resources only in English, it not only creates a barrier for those who would benefit from learning through Irish but also fails to demonstrate how AI can be used to support and modernise Ireland’s multilingual digital environment.

There are moments of genuine value in AIready.ie, particularly its practical guidance on identifying scam emails, which is both relevant and clearly explained. However, these instances feel more like isolated strengths than evidence of a coherent approach to AI literacy. Taken as a whole, the platform leans less towards equipping users with the critical tools to understand AI and more towards normalising its adoption across everyday tasks, Aregardless of whether AI is the most appropriate solution.

ADAPT's Discuss AI initiative: Why Their Approach Works

The limitations of AIready.ie become clearer when contrasted with initiatives that approach AI literacy as a social and civic challenge rather than simply a matter of digital skills acquisition. ADAPT's Discuss AI Initiative offers an alternative model. It is taking on an active role in building AI literacy, awareness and trust across Irish society, with a clear purpose to ensure that public voices actively shape the future of AI research, innovation and policy in Ireland. Running since 2021, Discuss AI operates as a large scale, nationwide collaboration network built around a clear principle: AI in Ireland should be fair, inclusive and always put people first. Crucially, all elements of the programme have been co-created with and for diverse communities across Ireland, not designed for them from the outside.

The initiative spans a range of programmes: Age Friendly AI engages older adults directly in conversations about AI's role in their lives; Citizen Think-Ins are public forums that open deliberation on AI's impact to anyone; there is a dedicated post-primary AI literacy strand; and the Digi Academy delivers accessible digital skills education co-designed and led by people with lived experience of intellectual disability. Earlier work through Debunked workshops helped people develop skills to recognise misinformation and identify fake news.

Participants have reported a deeper understanding of AI and its societal impact, greater confidence in engaging with public discussions about emerging technologies, and critically a strong sense of agency. They felt that their perspectives on AI were heard and acknowledged. This is what genuine AI literacy looks like. It is not a website course that can be completed in two and a half hours. It is sustained, community rooted engagement that meets people where they are and takes their concerns seriously.

Conclusion

AIready.ie is not without merit. The platform is free, accessible and represents a genuine attempt to respond to the growing importance of AI in everyday life. However, it falls considerably short of its stated ambitions. Rather than fostering deep understanding, it often prioritises familiarity with AI tools over critical engagement with the technologies themselves. The evidence from initiatives such as ADAPT's Discuss AI programme points towards a different approach. Effective AI literacy is not simply about teaching people how to use AI systems. It is about helping them understand their limitations, evaluating their outputs, recognise their social consequences and feeling empowered to participate in decisions about how these technologies are deployed.

If Ireland is serious about building an AI literate society, it must move beyond website-based courses and invest in community-centred approaches that meet people where they are. This means co-designing programmes with older adults, people with disabilities and other groups at risk of digital exclusion. It means recognising that AI literacy is not merely a workforce development issue but a democratic one.

References:

• For Tech Sake Podcast, ‘AI Ready or Not”, Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4V6XDCRKh09FsG5A7aeTZ4?si=ef3f6412012a458d
• ie, Available at: https://aiready.ie/landingpage/
• The Journal Article, Available at: https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/artificial-intelligence-government-7027896-May2026/
• National Digital and AI Strategy 2030, Available at: link: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5e511b3a/National_Digital_and_AI_Strategy_2030.pdf
• ADAPT, Available at: https://www.adaptcentre.ie/ for ADAPT Discuss AI initiative, Available at: https://www.adaptcentre.ie/public-engagement/discussai/ and pdf https://www.adaptcentre.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DiscussAI-CaseStudy-2026.pdf
• Age Friendly Ireland, Available at: https://agefriendlyireland.ie/initiative/age-friendly-ai-irelands-national-artificial-intelligence-literacy-initiative/
• EU AI Act, Available at: https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/
• The Guadian Article, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/02/google-ai-overviews-risk-harm-misleading-health-information
• AI na Gaeilge: Gap Analysis and Stakeholder Insights Report, Available at: https://udaras.ie/assets/uploads/2026/04/AI-na-Gaeilge-Gap-Analysis-and-Stakeholder-Insights-Report-1.pdf

Posted in: Technology

Clodagh Lynch

Clodagh Lynch is a master's student in Politics and Data Science at UCD. Additionally, she holds as a BA in History and Politics from UCD. As part of summer semester, she is interning at TASC in the health stream. She has a personal interest in providing data-driven solutions to policy challenges through quantitative analysis and evidence-based research.