Dr. Alessandra Sala

🇮🇪 A proud and exciting moment in Ireland’s AI journey.

I am deeply honoured to have been appointed by Minister Peter Burke to the inaugural Board of Oifig IS na hÉireann - the AI Office of Ireland.

Ireland is moving forward with real ambition and momentum: building the governance, capabilities and institutions needed to advance AI responsibly, while creating the conditions for innovation and adoption to thrive.

As a formal legal governance entity, the Board will oversee and guide the work of Ireland’s central AI coordinating authority within the national framework for implementing the EU AI Act. The Office will also serve as an important focal point for responsible AI innovation and adoption across the country.

I am proud to contribute to this important chapter and look forward to working with CEO Paul Byrne and his team, Board Chair Mary Doyle, and my fellow Board members to help shape an AI future that is innovative, trusted and beneficial to society.

Press release announcing the Board membership: https://lnkd.in/dy9kve-5

#ArtificialIntelligence #ResponsibleAI #Ireland #EUAIAct #AIInnovation #AIGovernance #Leadership

Last night’s 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐏𝐰𝐂 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 2026 was truly inspiring: 13 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 celebrating finalists whose passion to succeed, dedication to excellence, and collective energy reflected the strength of a vibrant community of genuinely talented businesswomen.

Ireland is widely known as the home of many international tech companies. But last night showed another equally powerful story: Ireland is also home to a remarkable and growing group of successful women-led small and medium-sized companies, full of ambition, innovation, and readiness to scale.

The evening reached an incredible high through the inspirational words and story of Melíosa Ó Caoimh, Northern Trust’s Country Head of #Ireland, who received the top honour as 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐏𝐰𝐂 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 2026, and through the unforgettable stage presence and inspiring reflections of Anne O'Leary, who was presented with the 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 🎉

Receiving a 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 is deeply meaningful to me and a reminder of the privilege of living and working in a country, and within a community, that fosters diversity, nurtures talent, and invests in people regardless of gender, background, or origin.

A heartfelt thank you to IMAGE Media, PwC, the judges, organisers, sponsors, and everyone who made the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2026 such an inspiring evening.

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 | 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆
Those are the three words I would use to describe this week in Geneva, where 𝐀𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝, the United Nations 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 and WSIS Process challenged our thinking and stirred our emotions in very different ways.

✨ 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆
AI has the potential to bring profound value to society, but only if we remain focused on the 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 we are trying to solve.
Our conversations on faith and ethics reinforced an important conviction: today’s AI capabilities can already help us address many of the urgent challenges in front of us. Watch the AI for Good sessions: https://lnkd.in/dcPPb-uD

⚠️ 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆
At the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, we confronted the imminent risks of AI developing without effective governance. The discussions were grounded in scientific evidence presented by the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. Read the Panel’s preliminary report:
https://lnkd.in/drgyHqe2

🤝 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆
Governments are strengthening their commitments to AI governance. Inspiring bilateral with our Irish Minister of State for Trade Promotion, AI and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth. Companies are investing in safety and trust and Ireland has the talent to lead.

As part of the Young Researcher Program at AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration, we demoed new tools designed to advance multimedia authenticity and help restore trust in media and AI:
🌐 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏&𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍 a framework grounded in social science that equips people to critically assess online content before accepting or sharing it. https://stopandscan.org/
🌐 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐈 𝐁𝐨𝐭: a toolkit already live on Telegram and Discord that helps users assess potentially suspicious online content.
🌐 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞: tracing how AI-generated content is regulated across borders, while laying the foundations for cross-jurisdictional compliance passport https://lnkd.in/d23gGt9j

Watch our introductory video: https://lnkd.in/dR3q-CQe Read the newly released flagship reports: https://lnkd.in/eUcHqUje

Across the many discussions this week, several themes kept resurfacing: AI development may be following the wrong North Star; more women and diverse perspectives must shape the future of AI; freedom of expression must be protected; leadership must become more representative; information integrity must remain central; and children urgently need protection from the risks AI may pose to their cognitive and social development.

The challenges are significant, but so is the 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 to ensure that AI develops in service of people and society.

#AIforGood #AIGovernance #ResponsibleAI #InformationIntegrity #AIStandards Women in AI