Seán O'Sullivan from Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom, Co Limerick, has been announced as the winner of the 60th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.
His entry is entitled 'VerifyMe: A new approach to authorship attribution in the post-ChatGPT era'.
The project explores the development of a new artificial intelligence (AI) detection system that uses past examples of an author's writing to detect if AI was used to generate a piece of work.
Seán has been awarded €7,500 and will go on to represent Ireland at the EU Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) which will take place later this year in the European City of Science 2024 - Katowice, Poland.
Seán said he was delighted with the win.
"It feels unreal. I would never have imagined being here, there were so many incredible other projects. Dreams can come true," Seán said.
Gerard O'Sullivan is the principal of Seán's school and is also his dad.
"I am exceptionally proud as a principal and overwhelmed as a dad," Mr O'Sullivan said.
"I have lived this at school and at home for many months, I am delighted and absolutely over the moon," he added.
The contest judges paid tribute to Seán's hard work.
"The judges were hugely impressed by Seán's innovative approach to addressing a problem that has only recently emerged and his programming skills in architecting a complex software solution," said Leonard Hobbs, Chair of the Technology Group Judging Panel
Minister for Education Norma Foley congratulated Seán.
"His win is testament to his hard work and dedication and the unwavering support of his family, teachers and school," Ms Foley said.
Shay Walsh is the Managing Director of BT Ireland, which organises the exhibition.
"I have been lucky enough to be involved in the exhibition for almost a quarter of a century, since BT first became custodians," Mr Walsh said.
"Being able to see first-hand the creativity and innovation of Ireland’s future leaders has been a real privilege."
"This year’s competition has been no exception with projects seeking to address real-world issues involving AI, health, and sustainability to name but a few," he added.
The Runner Up Individual Award went to Philippa McIntosh from Bandon Grammar School in Co Cork for her project 'Beyond numbers: The textual challenge of Junior Cycle maths for Dyslexic Students'.
The Best Group award went to Abigail O'Brien Murray, Erica O'Brien Murray and Olivia O'Shea from Loreto Secondary School Balbriggan in Co Dublin for their project 'Let's Save the Common Ash!:A Continued Study'.
The runner-up group award went to Ciara Murphy and Saoirse Murphy from Presentation Secondary School Tralee in Co Kerry for their project 'ACT {Aid, Care, Treat} - an immediate, accessible, technological aid to assist in emergencies, supported by a comprehensive repository of medical information'.
This year's exhibition included 550 projects from 219 schools showcasing research and innovation in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
The 2024 exhibition marks the 60th anniversary of the BTYSTE which has become one of the longest running events of its kind in the world.
BT Ireland estimates that in the last 60 years some 150,000 young people have taken part putting forward over 100,000 project ideas, and over the past 35 years, 17 of the overall exhibition winners have won first place at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.
Many previous winners have developed their projects into successful commercial enterprises.
Patrick Collison, who won the exhibition in 2005, went on to form Stripe, a multibillion-euro payments company.
A Primary Science Fair was run alongside the main exhibition giving 55 primary schools the opportunity to display their research and innovation to judges and visitors.
