Dublin Tech Summit 2025: Highlights from David SavageThis year, David Savage, Tech Evangelist at Harvey Nash attended Dublin Tech Summit for the first time, immersing himself in the tech community of Ireland’s capital. As a seasoned tech evangelist and conference host, David found the event refreshingly human-centred, with conversations that went beyond technology hype to explore real-world impact and challenges. Discover David’s own reflection on the summit and the themes that stayed with him. My trip to Dublin Tech Summit My trip to Dublin Tech Summit marked my first time attending this vibrant event in the heart of the Irish capital. Having been lucky enough to moderate and speak at conferences around the world, it’s easy for the themes and stories to blur together - “Did someone really say that? And was it in Lisbon, London, or Amsterdam?!” But Dublin stood out in a refreshing way. The atmosphere felt distinctly more human and less about tech hype, which made the conversations far more compelling. So, as I sit back at my desk reflecting, here are a few key lessons still resonating with me. The illusion of intelligence in AI Several speakers challenged the notion that AI is truly intelligent. We know it’s not “smart” in the human sense, it’s fundamentally about predicting patterns in zeros and ones. But when the output sounds convincing, it’s easy to forget that. A chatbot saying it wants to see the mountains doesn’t come across as fake, it sounds self-aware. But it isn’t. Fawad Qureshi, Field CTO at Snowflake, put it well when he called AI a “stochastic parrot”, confident, yet a shallow mimicry of real intelligence. The takeaway? We need to stop anthropomorphising AI and remember the philosophical gap: AI will never genuinely understand emotion, values, or principles. From problem-solving to problem-framing As AI tools grow more powerful, our role evolves. Richard Skinner of Phased AI described this as the last digital transformation we’ll experience. Going forward, it’s about how we apply judgement and curation. We must act as the ethical handbrake, because abdicating responsibility risks catastrophic consequences. His argument was a strong one for teaching people to ask better questions, not just to write better code. AI adoption from the ground up It’s not only leaders or IT teams driving change; frontline workers are experimenting with AI tools to solve problems in real time. Shadow ChatGPT usage is on the rise. James Doyle, founder of iReal, is harnessing AI to democratise training insights in sport, levelling the playing field for modestly resourced clubs with high-quality data. But he also cautioned against the risks, sport could become overly robotic as data dominance grows. Arsenal’s obsession with corners, which has hurt their open-play scoring, is a cautionary tale. Is there a lesson there for all of us? If we lean too heavily on AI for creativity, do we risk losing our own human ingenuity? Democratisation is exciting, but boundaries and oversight remain crucial. Meaningful debate and authentic conversations The panels I attended and hosted were rich in debate, authentic, and tackled the real challenges we face - both as an industry and a society. That felt meaningful, and I applaud Dublin Tech Summit for creating the space where this could happen. Thank you to everyone who gave their time and shared their candour. I’m also excited to share that we recorded six ‘Tech Talks’ podcasts live from the conference floor, launching from June 16th. Tune in to hear the voices of Dublin Tech Summit, along with ideas and actions you can take into your own work. David Savage, Tech Evangelist and host of Tech Talks, hosted two panels at DTS:'Ops! AI Did it Again!'AI is driving business and redefining how we work, but let’s be honest, sometimes it gets things dangerously, or financially wrong. From hallucinating chatbots and autopilot failures to AI-generated fake news and billion-dollar compliance risks, this session takes a no-filter look at the most unexpected, absurd, and high-stakes AI blunders and what companies can actually do to prevent them. We’ll dive into: When does AI’s confidence become its biggest flaw? How do enterprises build AI that knows what it doesn’t know? How do businesses prove real AI innovation without getting caught in the hype trap? AI is now making financial, legal, healthcare, and enterprise-critical decisions. But what happens when it gets things very, very wrong? What operational guardrails actually work to stop bad AI decisions before they go live? Key Takeaways: How enterprises can spot and prevent AI hallucinations before they cost money, credibility, or compliance fines. Practical strategies to test, validate, and govern AI outputs before they cause reputational or financial damage. What AI regulations and compliance trends mean for businesses using AI at scale and why no company is immune to AI failures. How AI leaders across industries are building smarter, safer, and more resilient AI ecosystems for real-world deployment Let’s unpack what happens when machines make mistakes at scale and what to do when it’s your AI that screws up.Panel included: Fawad Qureshi, Global Field CTO, Snowflake, Emerald De Leeuw, Global Had of privacy and AI, Logitech, Nathan Cullen, General Manager, IBM Ireland, Laetitita Cailleteau, Accenture Responsible AI Lead, Accenture. ‘The New Org Chart: Humans, AI, and the End of Traditional Leadership.’In a world driven by disruption, the future of leadership isn’t just about being faster or smarter, it’s about being purposeful. The rise of AI-powered intelligence and fractional leadership is shattering old corporate hierarchies and making room for leaner, more agile, and values-driven structures that align with how we should work in the future. This isn’t about scaling for the sake of growth, it’s about rethinking leadership to drive innovation with intention, fuel human potential, and build organisations designed for real impact. Here, AI augments decision-making, and fractional leaders bring precision expertise without the full-time bloat—creating dynamic leadership ecosystems that are flexible, scalable, and ethically focused. This is leadership with purpose blending human ingenuity with machine intelligence to forge teams that lead with vision, not just velocity. Key Takeaways Purpose-Driven Disruption Fractional Leadership for Smart Scaling Human-AI Synergy for Ethical Decision-Making Building an Agile, Impact-First Organisation Scaling With Purpose.Panel included: Charlene Hunter MBE, CEO & Founder, Coding Black Females, Mark Jordan, CEO, Skillnet, Samuel Legrand, EMEA Field CTO, ControlUp, Essam Elhalhuli, Senior Enterprise Account Manager, Coursera. These sessions dove deep into how AI is reshaping continuous learning, leadership models, and the delicate balance between risk and opportunity.
