For decades, Ireland has built its economic identity on being a knowledge economy: highly skilled, highly educated, and a magnet for global investment. Agentic AI is about to test whether that advantage still holds.
Most conversations about AI start with cost – how do we do more with less? Audrey O'Mahony, Accenture's Head of Talent Reinvention for UKIA, argues that's the wrong starting point entirely. Her question instead: what would you do with 10,000 extra employees? Thinking capacity instead of cost-cutting changes what preparing for AI actually looks like.
In Part 1 of this conversation, Audrey talks about what's at stake for Ireland if that knowledge-economy advantage slips, and why government and the public sector have a uniquely important role to play. As adopters of AI, but also as enablers of it across the wider economy.
🔹 The risk to Ireland's knowledge-economy advantage if AI readiness doesn't keep pace
🔹 The mindset shift — why \"what would you do with 10,000 extra employees?\" is a better question than \"how do we cut costs?\"
🔹 The public sector's dual role — adopting AI in its own services, and enabling AI readiness across the wider economy
🔹 The foundation — why agentic AI is only as good as the data sitting underneath it
🔹 The real driver of adoption — trust, not training modules
Part 2 coming soon.
🎧 Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards, brought to you in partnership with Accenture.
📅 The Ireland eGovernment Awards and Leadership Summit take place 24 September at O'Reilly Hall, UCD. Find out more at digitalgovawards.com
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