by Prof Noel O’Connor, CEO, Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics
After more than a decade of nationally significant research, innovation, partnership and impact, the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics has completed its funded research programme. Since its establishment, Insight has played a key role in building Ireland’s reputation and capacity in data analytics, connected health, cultural analytics, sports analytics, human computer interaction, sensor technology, foundational AI research and many other fields. Insight has trained a new generation of researchers, worked in partnership with industry and the public sector and helped position Ireland as an internationally recognised location for data-driven research and innovation.
Rinn AI is the next chapter for Ireland’s data and AI research ecosystem. Rinn, the Irish word for point or headland, is the name of Research Ireland’s new research centres network. The Rinn Network will support seven Centres, 577 research positions, develop over 800 PhDs and involve 17 research-performing organisations in a coordinated, collaborative national effort of unprecedented scale.
Rinn AI is one of the new national centres within the Rinn network. The Rinn programme is a paradigm shift in the way research is conducted in Ireland. It is built on the foundations of Insight and the Research Ireland ADAPT Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology. These two national research centres have made a major contribution to Ireland’s AI and data research ecosystem over the past 12 years. Together, they have helped to create a deeply collaborative, interdisciplinary and internationally connected research community. Their work has advanced data analytics, AI, language and media technologies, connected health, responsible innovation, human-centred AI, public engagement and policy-relevant research. They have built partnerships across academia, enterprise, government and civil society. They have shown how Irish research can contribute to economic development, public value and societal good. Rinn AI is the next stage in Ireland’s AI ecosystem evolution.
Rinn AI builds on the expertise and reach of Insight and ADAPT, bringing together researchers from across the country in a coordinated national effort to advance data science and artificial intelligence research that addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing society and the economy. This transition reflects the growth and maturity of the Irish AI and data science research ecosystem and is an indication of the scale and ambition for Ireland on the international stage.
To all of our members, researchers, students, collaborators, funders, industry partners and public sector stakeholders, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support, vision and commitment in getting us to this point. The success of Insight and ADAPT is the fruit of your expertise, commitment and willingness to work across disciplines, institutions and sectors. Rinn AI is rooted in that collective achievement. Now is the time to consolidate the energies of these two Centres and to bring in new talent from across the data research community. I’m calling on you to come with us on the next stage in our journey.
The ambition and scale of Rinn AI is the result of over a decade’s work building national AI research capacity that finds and connects talent around mission-critical projects for our society and economy. Rinn AI expands the research base of Insight and ADAPT to include 15 Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) – all 13 of Ireland’s universities, a research institute and an institute of technology – combining the talents of over 288 co-applicants and PIs who are internationally recognised leaders and rising stars in the Irish research ecosystem. The result is a truly national centre with the critical mass to address some of the most pressing issues of our time.
We have a bold and distinct research mission mapped out for Rinn AI, based on the learnings of the last decade and the confidence we have gained in our capacity as a research-performing nation in a globalised world. Our mission is informed by our values as well as our competencies.
We will pioneer new approaches to data infrastructures that collect, share and process data for societal good while ensuring compliance with regulation, user inclusion, consent, privacy and sustainability. We will enhance our understanding of people-AI interactions that augment human cognition and collaboration.
We have a plan to shape more ethical and trustworthy AI systems and more equitable outcomes for all. Through critically informed co-creation of research and outputs with stakeholders and the public, we will address key societal challenges in climate change; gender, racial and class inequalities; political polarisation; heritage; and migration and intercultural dynamics.
Rinn AI will leverage data science and AI to address critical challenges across the spectrum of human health, from genotype to phenotype, from individual to population, by predicting disease onset more effectively. We will support the development of remote, timely and personalised care solutions and population-level health strategies.
Economically, Rinn AI is projected to generate over €2 billion in impact, create more than 6,000 jobs, secure over 100 intellectual property licenses and patents and spin out 25 companies, many of which are expected to achieve high-performance start-up status. For industry, Rinn AI represents a large-scale platform for bespoke research projects, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programme participation, along with access to national testbeds, sandboxes and joint industry-academic labs.
Beyond this economic impact, Rinn AI will address critical ethical challenges such as bias, misinformation and data privacy, ensuring that data science and AI technologies are deployed responsibly and inclusively.
The Rinn AI research programme’s challenge-based framework will allow complex, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary issues to be tackled, providing actionable solutions to national and European priorities.
Rinn AI represents a paradigm shift in how research is conducted in Ireland. By uniting researchers, institutions and stakeholders from across the country, Rinn AI will facilitate a coordinated and collaborative approach to research and innovation that tackles the complexities of today’s societal and technological challenges.
With well-established and robust connections to European and international research networks, e.g., ELLIS – European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems , Fraunhofer in Germany, the The Alan Turing Institute in the UK and the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) among many others, Rinn AI will enhance Ireland’s position as a leader in ethical and human-centred data science and AI.
The speed at which technology is developing presents enormous potential for society but also significant challenges. We need to work together to ensure that technologies enhance the autonomy and dignity of individuals and groups, enabling human capability, learning, creativity, health and democratic engagement to flourish.
Rinn AI is the headland for that cooperation in Ireland. We are reliant on your continued support and deeply grateful for the work, energy and imagination that has allowed the two Centres to build to this ambitious new era for Irish data and AI research.
We invite you to follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/rinn-ai/about/
