Can the Government hold Elon Musk and Grok to account? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 16, 2026 · 53 MIN

Can the Government hold Elon Musk and Grok to account?

from Irish Times Inside Politics · host The Irish Times

Harry McGee, Ellen Coyne and Mark Paul join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:·       The Minister with responsibility for artificial intelligence (AI), Niamh Smyth, met with executives from social media company X on Friday over concerns about their Grok app. The app has been in the headlines because of its ability to produce non-consensual intimate images. Current law bans sharing of intimate images but does not appear to criminalise generating them – what is the Government’s next step?·       The level of energy needed to power a data centre was laid bare this week. An internal Government document showed that a single facility in west Dublin consumes 10 times the electricity of a nearby pharmaceutical plant employing 2,000 people, equivalent to enough power for 200,000 homes.·       And more ‘psychodrama’ for the Tories this week as Robert Jenrick, the Conservative shadow justice secretary, defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK after being sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet.Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:·       The US and Denmark battle for control of Greenland, Inside Politics veteran Jennifer Bray is releasing a book (and it’s rather good), a reader’s letter questions how dog-friendly we should be as a society, and who is next for Donald Trump’s crosshairs?Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harry McGee, Ellen Coyne and Mark Paul join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:·       The Minister with responsibility for artificial intelligence (AI), Niamh Smyth, met with executives from social media company X on Friday over concerns about their Grok app. The app has been in the headlines because of its ability to produce non-consensual intimate images. Current law bans sharing of intimate images but does not appear to criminalise generating them – what is the Government’s next step?·       The level of energy needed to power a data centre was laid bare this week. An internal Government document showed that a single facility in west Dublin consumes 10 times the electricity of a nearby pharmaceutical plant employing 2,000 people, equivalent to enough power for 200,000 homes.·       And more ‘psychodrama’ for the Tories this week as Robert Jenrick, the Conservative shadow justice secretary, defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK after being sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet.Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:·       The US and Denmark battle for control of Greenland, Inside Politics veteran Jennifer Bray is releasing a book (and it’s rather good), a reader’s letter questions how dog-friendly we should be as a society, and who is next for Donald Trump’s crosshairs?Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Can the Government hold Elon Musk and Grok to account?

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This episode is 53 minutes long.

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This episode was published on January 16, 2026.

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Harry McGee, Ellen Coyne and Mark Paul join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:·       The Minister with responsibility for artificial intelligence (AI), Niamh Smyth, met with executives from social media company X on Friday over...

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