Stephen Farry

A painting of the end of meritocracy: A meeting of the two largest economies and not one woman at the table.

Last week PBNI AI working group met. Chaired by Head of Communications Gail McGreevy this group considers how we can use AI to responsibly and safely enhance efficiency. The group heard from Professor @StephenFarryUU from @UlsterUni on current AI developments in NI.

It is deeply worrying that political noise may crowd out disturbing reality re unprecedented state of UK public finances. As I outline here, public debt and cost of servicing it is already unaffordable. And full impacts of war and rising gilts will compound. New territory.

‘Servicing UK public debt is £110bn a year. This cost is unsustainable, displaces spending, and threatens the wellbeing of the economy.’ Read Jodie Carson: tinyurl.com/5yn36wy2

Absolutely this

Agreeing a budget is the core task for any government. We are over a month into the financial year, and almost a year since the Block Grant was set in the UK Spending Review. Scotland & Wales set budgets in January. The absence of a local budget brings significant consequences…

Writing for Belfast Live, Professor Stephen Farry explains the implications of Stormont having no agreed budget belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-…

One year ago @StephenFarryUU and I argued that NI needs a cross-cutting AI strategy so that AI be harnessed to drive productivity and proactively up/re-skill our workforce. We can’t afford to be passive on this. @UlsterUniSPU @UlsterUni ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/…

I don’t wish to be alarmist but as I recently tweeted there is little that matters more than this at the moment. This determines almost everything the Gov can or can’t do, including in response to the Middle Eastern crisis. This is beyond serious.

This is a limited backstop option. And stands in stark contrast to the option of having a strategic multi-year budget in place. There are knock-on consequences for workforce and other planning, and grants to community and voluntary sector delivering services.

This is very positive from @Education_NI. Assisting teachers with workload pressures is a clear and obvious opportunity from deployment of AI. Many of these steps have been informed by colleagues in @UlsterUni

Wrote this article just over 1yr ago. The failure to have adequately prioritised spending on renewables and climate adaptation leaves us very exposed to the ME current crisis, capacity to support households and withstand the incoming inflationary shock. ukandeu.ac.uk/uks-fiscal-fra…

A windfall tax on abnormal energy profits would make a lot of sense and help finance support for households and business.

In todays IN I argue that while Gov is coming under increasing political pressure to mitigate rising energy costs, it's important to be very considered as to how that looks. tinyurl.com/yvnyp775

1/2 Important point for NI. Cutting fuel duties to help households is a seemingly valid intervention, but is economically problematic. Making fuel more affordable amidst a supply shock will accelerate and compound shortages. And is not sustainable.

Opinion: The economic consequences of the Middle East conflict and impact for NI belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-n…

My proposed framework for economically transforming NI involves a strategic and macro level approach, based around four key pillars and grounded in a solid and enduring foundation. irishnews.com/news/business/…

Fascinating conversation on ‘Checks and Balances’ and important role of opposition in UK & Ireland with John McAllister @EOBroin @MatthewOToole2 @sarahrees500 @StephenFarryUU

Kick-off time at our event with the @humefoundation as part of the @ImagineBelfast festival 🎤 📍We are hearing from our panel who are currently sharing thoughts on the role of the opposition across the UK and Ireland.

About to compere NI Leadership & Governance conference #NIGovConf26