Regulating AI: Balancing Innovation with Responsibility

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our daily lives from healthcare diagnostics to autonomous vehicles and generative AI, the urgency to establish robust regulatory frameworks has never been greater. Yet, striking the right balance between fostering innovation and ensuring ethical, transparent, and responsible AI development remains one of the most complex challenges of our time.
This session will explore the global landscape of AI regulation, examining emerging policies such as the EU AI Act, the U.S. AI Executive Order, and the UK’s pro-innovation regulatory approach. We will discuss how these frameworks aim to mitigate risks like bias, lack of explainability, misuse, and safety failures, while also providing a stable environment for startups, enterprises, and researchers to thrive.
The talk will offer insights into how regulation can be designed to support responsible innovation by encouraging AI transparency, human oversight, and accountability without stifling progress. Real-world examples will be used to illustrate how thoughtful governance can enable AI to be both powerful and principled.
Attendees will leave with a nuanced understanding of:
• The current and future regulatory landscape of AI
• The ethical and technical challenges regulators must address
• Practical implications for businesses and developers working in AI
This session is ideal for technologists, policymakers, data scientists, and industry leaders who are navigating the evolving intersection of AI advancement and societal responsibility. Together, we’ll explore how regulation can act not as a barrier, but as a catalyst for sustainable, inclusive AI innovation.

This session marks the speaker's first public presentation and is designed for a general audience with an interest in the intersection of AI, policy, and ethics. No prior technical expertise is required, though a basic understanding of AI concepts will be helpful. The session will run for approximately 30 minutes, followed by a 10-minute Q&A. Delivered virtually, it requires only standard AV support for screen sharing. This talk aims to spark conversation and reflection around how regulation can guide responsible AI innovation without limiting its potential.

AI for the Real World: Empowering Blue-Collar Industries with Intelligent Tools

Artificial Intelligence is often seen as a tool for digital transformation in white-collar and high-tech sectors. But some of the most impactful applications are happening where you’d least expect in blue-collar industries. This talk highlights how AI is revolutionizing every day, hands-on work by embedding intelligence into tasks like road maintenance, recycling, and public infrastructure monitoring.
Drawing from real-world projects including a collaboration with a UK city council to deploy AI-powered road monitoring systems I will demonstrate how niche AI technologies like computer vision, digital twins, and reinforcement learning are solving high-impact, operational challenges. This talk will explore how these solutions not only increase efficiency but also enhance worker safety, reduce costs, and improve service quality without requiring a background in tech to benefit from them.
Key Takeaways:
• Real-world examples of AI transforming blue-collar sectors like waste management and road maintenance
• How niche AI tools can be applied in practical, scalable ways
• A roadmap for non-tech industries to adopt AI and gain a competitive edge