Riverdance Inside, Protestors Outside at Ireland’s Big AI Branding Bash

To get into today’s International AI Summit in Dublin, delegates had to pass a picket of striking public sector workers, a cluster of protesters, and two layers of security and identity checks. Once inside, however, a companionable air of professionalism reigned as Irish and European Union officials mingled with tech executives and a select handful of journalists over compostable paper coffee cups, amid a showcase featuring robots, Meta smart glasses, quantum computing racks and corporate-branded tote bags.

The conference was organized by the Irish government. A flagship event of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ireland billed it as a showcase of innovation and the possibilities of “harnessing AI to revolutionize Europe’s competitiveness.” The government used the event to launch a number of initiatives including a new startup incubator, a cabinet subcommittee and the “Dublin Declaration,” a new document described as a “shared vision for advancing trusted, safe and sovereign AI across Europe.”