International AI Summit in Dublin
Global leaders will gather tomorrow (Wednesday), October 14, in the RDS Dublin for the 2026 International AI Summit, one of the most significant gatherings of AI leaders and policymakers held in Europe this year.
As a long-established European technology hub with a growing indigenous AI sector, Ireland has planned this event to help shape Europe's approach to AI competitiveness, innovation and trust.
The agenda brings together some of the world's foremost leaders in artificial intelligence, technology, business and public policy to lead the conversation on how Europe can capture the potential of AI to grow prosperity across the EU in a way that is consistent with European values.
Minister of State with responsibility for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, Niamh Smyth, is hopeful the event will give indigenous Irish businesses, particularly those in the small and medium sector, an understanding of how they can benefit from a technology that has infiltrated “every aspect of our lives”.
On the day, businesses will be able to network with some of the largest AI developers while learning about funding opportunities for such technologies from Enterprise Ireland.
Understanding there are some people who are “cautious” about introducing AI over fears of displacement, Minister Smyth is hopeful new jobs will be created throughout this “technical transformation”.
INVESTMENT
Pointing to the €150M budget allocation to support workforce development with AI and digital skills needed for future jobs, she also urged that human oversight of the new technology will remain “incredibly important”.
“AI has the potential to transform how we work, how we deliver public services and how businesses innovate and grow,” Minister Smyth said.
“Realising that opportunity requires more than technology alone. It requires people with the skills and confidence to use AI, a strong innovation ecosystem, world-class research, supportive infrastructure and a regulatory framework that people can trust,” she added.
Looking at the agenda for the event, Minister Smyth said that every session reflects what she is hearing every day.
“AI is moving from experimentation to implementation, across food production, financial services, life sciences and beyond. That only works if it's built on trust and on people. My own role in this Summit reflects that - by helping every Irish business use AI safely and with confidence, and making sure our workforce has the skills to benefit as this technology grows.”
Among the speakers at the summit are Taoiseach Micheál Martin; Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission; and there will be a keynote address from Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft.
Sir Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, Sarah Friar of OpenAI, Eileen O’ Mara of Stripe and Edmond Scanlon of Kerry Group will also speak, alongside leaders from organisations including AMD, Amazon, Anthropic, Ericsson, Intel, Jentic, Meta, NVIDIA, Nuritas, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Siemens, and Zalando.