Responsible AI Summit Workshop Day - Wednesday 23 September

AI governance frameworks were built for systems that assist human decision‑making. They are already being strained by agentic AI, and further capability leaps are coming faster than most organisations are prepared for. This workshop pushes beyond today's comfort zone, taking participants into structured, practical planning for the AI landscape of 2028–2029. Rather than asking if governance models will need to change, the session focuses on where they will fail first and how organisations can see those breaks coming.

Attendees will:

• Stress‑test their current AI governance frameworks against three realistic near‑future scenarios, including near‑AGI capability.

• Pinpoint the assumptions, controls, and processes most likely to break as AI capabilities jump again.

• Build early warning indicators tailored to their organisation, enabling earlier, more confident strategic intervention.

Sue Turner OBE

AI Governance Expert & Professor in Practice for AI and Technologies
University of Bristol Business School

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Charlotte Wiseman

Founder and CEO
Step Inside Group

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For organisations operating in highly regulated environments, scaling AI can feel like a constant negotiation between innovation and compliance. Requirements under the EU AI Act and GDPR, alongside works council and employee consultation requirements, ethical standards and industry-specific regulation, can be seen as barriers to adoption. But when translated into practical processes, they can provide the guardrails organisations need to move faster and with greater confidence.

Drawing on her experience leading AI and data governance within a highly regulated HR environment, Mariana Hebborn will explore how organisations can enable responsible, self-service AI adoption at scale. Participants will examine how the EU AI Act, GDPR, works council requirements, ethical considerations and industry-specific regulation affect AI adoption, before working together to turn these barriers into practical opportunities for progress.

Through collaborative exercises, participants will identify their most pressing barriers, compare approaches across industries and map out tangible actions that can be applied within their organisations.

Attendees will:

• Identify the regulatory, ethical and organisational barriers slowing AI adoption.
• Explore the implications of the EU AI Act, GDPR and workforce consultation.
• Translate complex requirements into practical processes employees can follow.
• Build an actionable roadmap for responsible AI adoption at scale.

Walk away with a clearer view of how regulation can support rather than stall innovation, alongside practical actions for moving from compliance requirements to responsible AI adoption at scale.

Mariana Hebborn

Global Head of HR AI & Data Governance
Merck Group

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Responsible AI is no longer a technical or compliance issue alone — it is a leadership and trust challenge. Yet many Responsible AI initiatives struggle to gain traction at the executive level due to misaligned language, competing priorities, and unclear business value.

This interactive workshop is designed to help Responsible AI leaders, practitioners, and cross functional teams confidently engage senior leadership and the C suite on Responsible AI. The session focuses on how to communicate RAI in a way that resonates with business leaders, aligns with organisational strategy, and drives informed decision making without stalling innovation.

Through practical exercises and real world scenarios, participants will explore how to frame Responsible AI in terms of risk, value, reputation, and growth, and how to move conversations beyond principles to action.

Attendees will:

• Understand what C suite leaders care about when it comes to AI risk, opportunity, and trust, and how to tailor Responsible AI messaging accordingly.

• Translate Responsible AI concepts into clear, business relevant narratives that resonate with executive priorities.

• Build confidence in influencing senior stakeholders, handling challenge, and addressing common executive objections.

• Develop communication strategies to secure leadership buy in and align stakeholders across the organisation.

Walk away with practical frameworks, messaging tools, and leadership ready talking points to successfully position Responsible AI as a strategic enabler, balancing speed, innovation, and trust at the highest levels of the organisation.

Barbara Zapisetskaya

Principal Counsel
EBRD

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Marina Boudreau

Regional Chair
Women in AI Governance

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As AI systems gain unprecedented autonomy, traditional governance frameworks are struggling to keep up. Agentic AI is making decisions faster than humans can intervene, and organisations that cling to conventional oversight risk operational, ethical, and reputational failures.

This interactive workshop equips leaders with the tools and frameworks needed to design governance systems that are both robust and adaptable in the age of autonomous AI.

Attendees will:

• Reimagine decision rights and escalation paths for AI systems operating independently.

• Explore human-in-the-loop frameworks that scale without slowing innovation.

• Assign accountable technical leadership to ensure transparency and auditability.

Walk away with a practical blueprint for next-generation AI governance, including risk matrices, escalation protocols, and real-world dashboards to ensure your organisation can deploy autonomous systems safely, ethically, and at scale.

Andrew Harrison

Senior AI Governance Specialist
Booking.com

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