Professor Ajay Chakravarthy is the Chief AI Officer at Thales and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield, where he earned both his Masters and PhD in Computer Science. A Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ajay brings over two decades of experience in Artificial Intelligence, spanning academic, governmental, and industry settings. He has held a range of distinguished roles across the public sector, including serving as Chief Scientific and Technology Officer for Counter Terrorism Policing and as Chief Scientist of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Ajay also served as a Senior Civil Servant at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (BDUK), where he was Director of Digital, Data and Technology.
In boardrooms, AI discussions are no longer abstract, they are charged with urgency, competing priorities, and hard trade-offs. C-suite leaders are navigating pressure to move fast while confronting rising demands for accountability, safety, and trust. This opening panel sets the scene for 2026 and explores the tensions shaping those conversations, how executives are interpreting "Responsible AI," and where alignment, and friction, is emerging at the top.
· Balancing speed with accountability in AI adoption.
· Interpreting Responsible AI across competing executive priorities.
· Managing trade-offs between innovation, risk, and governance.
Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Ajay.
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