Limerick student Seán O'Sullivan has been named as the winner of the 2024 BT Young Scientist.
The Fifth Year student from Coláiste Chiaráin won with his project, VerifyMe: A new approach to authorship attribution in the post-ChatGPT era.
The 17-year-old's project looked at the challenges posed by the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has created a need to discern material made by humans from that produced by AI.
Following his research on the topic, he developed a novel approach to authenticate material, by identifying stylistic differences to verify whether the creator was human or AI.
Congratulations to Sean O'Sullivan from Cólaiste Chiaráin in Limerick on his tremendous achievement of winning top prize at @BTYSTE tonight. His win is testament to his hard work and dedication and the unwavering support of his family, teachers and school. pic.twitter.com/JDcfqpb6mi
— Norma Foley T.D (@NormaFoleyTD1) January 12, 2024
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The chair of the technology group judging panel, Leonard Hobbs, said: "The judges were hugely impressed by Sean’s innovative approach to addressing a problem that has only recently emerged and his programming skills in architecting a complex software solution."
Minister for Education Norma Foley presented the €7,500 top prize to O'Sullivan at the RDS on Friday evening.
The Minister commended Seán on his "tremendous achievement", which will now see him represent Ireland at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Katowice, Poland later this year.
Marking the exhibition's 60th year, Ms Foley also paid tribute to its founders, Dr Tony Scott and Fr Tom Burke, "who had the vision and determination to first establish this event in Ireland back in 1963".
"The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition continues to demonstrate the breadth of what’s possible in our world when open and inquiring minds ask questions and explore new opportunities and solutions," she said.
Sixth Year students from Loreto Secondary School in Balbriggan, Dublin, Abigail O'Brien-Murrya, Erica O'Brian-Murray and Olivia O'Shea (all 18), won the best group prize for their project on ash trees.
The exhibition continues at the RDS on Saturday, with tickets available online and at the venue.
