AI and Inequality: Spotlight on the Key Issues Affecting Ireland
Artificial intelligence could increase productivity, improve public services, and make employment and social participation more accessible. But without deliberate action, the benefits of AI risk being distributed unevenly, deepening existing inequalities.
A new TASC report, AI and Inequality: Spotlight on the Key Issues Affecting Ireland, examines who stands to benefit from Ireland’s rapidly expanding digital economy, and who risks being left behind. An estimated 63% of jobs in Ireland are exposed to AI to some degree, with around 30% facing a comparatively high risk of displacement, while approximately one-third are well positioned to benefit.
The report finds that preparing people to use AI is not enough. Upskilling and retraining will be important, but they cannot address the deeper questions of who owns and controls these technologies, how the gains from increased productivity are distributed, and whether workers and communities have a meaningful voice in shaping digital transformation.
TASC calls for a broader approach, including stronger digital literacy, policies to ensure the benefits of AI are widely shared, and greater worker participation in decisions about how AI is introduced and used.
This issue brief was originally published as part of TASC's 2026 Inequality Report. Read the full report here
