Following an insightful meeting with Microsoft representatives at Stormont, Ulster Unionist Party Economy Spokesperson Diana Armstrong has called for the publication of a Northern Ireland AI Strategy.

Diana Armstrong MLA said:

"Northern Ireland has enormous potential to become a genuine AI Frontier Region. We already have the ecosystem, the talent and the public sector testbed to make this a reality and the economic prize is significant, with billions in potential growth on the table by 2030.

"But ambition must go hand in hand with responsibility. As we accelerate AI adoption across government and the economy, we must ensure robust safeguards are in place around privacy, bias, human oversight and public trust. Innovation without those guardrails risks undermining the very confidence we need to make this work.

"That is why I am calling on the Executive to publish the Northern Ireland AI Strategy without further delay. The foundations are there. What we need now is the strategic leadership and cross-departmental direction to unleash the full potential of AI for our public services, our businesses and our citizens. Time is not on our side and Northern Ireland must act with the agility this moment demands.”