Plenary session 2: Responsible AI – Building ethical, inclusive and human-centred intelligent systems
October 28th, 2026 — 12:05 - 13:15
Description
While artificial intelligence and automation offer transformative potential across modern industries, innovation ecosystems face a critical “deployment gap” where promising prototypes struggle to become safe, reliable and production-ready. This session looks at how science parks, innovation districts and academic hubs can take a more active role in that transition, embedding transparency, fairness and accountability into innovation while also addressing the implications for the workforce, building a picture of how spatial proximity and institutional leadership help intelligent systems augment human capability while mitigating bias and exclusion.
Speakers from Spain, the UK, Australia, and Sweden will bring complementary angles. Spain’s hub model integrates ethical oversight and legal compliance across the innovation lifecycle through Quadruple Helix co-governance. In the UK, Applied AI Labs and sovereign AI infrastructure provide a framework for operationalising AI governance. Australia’s urban innovation district brings together universities, health institutions and civic partners around shared stewardship and place-based sandboxes. Sweden’s cluster platforms help SMEs manage digital and green twin transitions, with a focus on change management and bridging the practical implementation gap.
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