Conference „AI for Everyone: Creating a Better Future?“, January 27th, 2025, Slaveykov Hall
L’Institut français de Bulgarie accueille une conférence sur l’intelligence artificielle, intitulée « AI for Everyone : Creating a Better Future ? ». Ce forum public est organisé conjointement avec l’Ambassade de France, la Chambre de commerce et d’industrie franco-bulgare, et en partenariat avec la French Tech Sofia et Kapital. Il comprendra trois panels qui permettront d’échanger sur l’impact de l’IA dans la perspective du sommet international d’action sur l’IA qui aura lieu à Paris en février.
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The French Institute of Bulgaria will host a conference on artificial intelligence, titled „AI for Everyone: Creating a Better Future?“. This public forum is organized together with the French Embassy, the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and in partnership with the French Tech Sofia and Kapital. It will feature three panels discussing the broad impact of AI on various sectors in preparation for the international AI Action Summit that will take place in Paris in February.
Artificial intelligence has become widely accessible, transforming daily life not only for IT professionals but also for businesses and individuals. Its potential spans from assisting with everyday tasks to revolutionizing finance, security, healthcare, legal services, journalism, and more. Beyond entertainment (social media, image generation, video games), AI is reshaping creativity, impacting art, literature, music, design and education.
Recent advances in voice assistants, video generation and translation indicate that AI may increasingly influence live events, social interactions and human relationships. These developments bring both opportunities and challenges, particularly regarding ethical use, innovation, and the future direction of AI.
In this context, the central questions of our panels will be: How do we get the AI transition right? Can AI fulfill its promise of progress and empowerment for all while addressing the risks inherent to any technological development?
Date: Monday, January 27, 2025
Hour: from 14:00 to 18:00
Venue: Institut français de Bulgarie, 3, Slaveykov square, Sofia.
Conditions: free entrance, event accessible upon registration until Friday, January 24th.
Register HERE (Google form):
Language : English (no translation provided)
Programme (pdf, 568 kb)
Panels:
Panel 1 – AI for Public Interest: Universal and Responsible Accessibility?
AI tools are increasingly integrated into everyday life. How can AI contribute to empowerment, accessibility and inclusion for all? Furthermore, how can technology be leveraged to provide responsible solutions to address the pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time?
Alexandre GEFEN is a historian of ideas and literature and a CNRS Research Director at the Théorie et histoire des arts et des littératures de la modernité unit (UMR7172, THALIM, CNRS / Université sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3). He is the author of numerous articles and essays on culture, contemporary literature and literary theory. Founder of Fabula.org, he was one of the pioneers of Digital Humanities in France. Working on the adoption of Artificial Intelligence tools for research in the humanities and social sciences, as well as on their critical examination, he is principal investigator (PI) of the ANR project ‘CulturIA’, for a cultural history of AI. He has also curated two exhibitions on the relationship between art and AI. Latest publications: with Guillemette Crozet, La littérature. Une infographie, CNRS Editions, 2022. Créativités artificielles, Les Presses du réel, 2023. Vivre avec ChatGPT, L’Observatoire, 2023.
Georgi Petkov is the Head of the Digital Health Research Group at GATE Institute “Big Data for an Intelligent Society” (SU). His career as a multidisciplinary scientist in translational neuroscience spans more than 20 years of work in prominent research teams in Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. His research is related to the creation of methods from all areas of human cognition, using AI, ML, DL, and their application to solve real biomedical problems. The approach is called translational medicine, which aims to improve human health and longevity by determining the relevance of new scientific discoveries and innovations for treating human diseases. Most of the results of his scientific works and patents in brain dynamics, computer vision and AI are applied in clinical practice.
Moderator: Sasha BEZUHANOVA is a senior executive, angel investor and philanthropist with a 20-years executive business career in HP and a multi-dimensional track record of service to society. Her long list of business achievements and social development engagements throughout the years involve positioning Bulgaria as an ICT center of global significance, boosting the entrepreneurial culture and women empowerment in her home country Bulgaria and at European level. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Women in Tech Global Awards in November 2024 in Paris and the Women in Tech Europe Award in October 2024 in Brussels. She founded and leads several initiatives, including the Bulgarian Center for Women in Technology and the ‘She is Me’ conferences, as well as MOVE.BG, a think-and-do tank and a collaborative network and incubator that fosters technological innovation, sustainability and social progress.
Panel 2 – AI and the Transformation of Work: Creativity, Skills and Well-being
The AI revolution is transforming the workplace and the concept of work itself, raising questions about its impact on productivity, job creation and job loss. It also raises concerns about employee wellbeing, new skill requirements and intellectual property. We will also discuss how AI will affect cultural, artistic and creative professions.
Evgeni BORISOV – Co-Founder & CEO Pontica Solutions, Outsourcing company focused on optimizing support activities, back-office processes, technical support and IT team management.
He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pontica Solutions, bringing in 15+ years of expertise in the outsourcing industry. At Pontica, his role is pivotal in steering the company’s operational processes, and in integrating automations and spearheading innovations to deliver exceptional solutions.
Sylvain COLLOT was born in France. In 1999, he joined Melexis Belgium as product engineer. He moved in 2005 to manage the team of product engineers in Melexis Bulgaria, before taking over the role of Manufacturing Manager in 2007. He became Site Manager of the company’s Bulgarian entity by early 2013 and since 2019, he has held the position of Regional Site Manager for Eastern Europe and Global OPS Strategic Manager. As of 2024, Sylvain Collot assumes the position of Vice President of Global Operations at Melexis, in charge of overseeing and leading the overall strategy on a global scale for the Melexis Operations. This combined with being Managing Director of XPEQT, Automatic Test Solution provider primarily to Melexis.
Mr. Collot is currently President of the Belgium-Bulgaria-Luxembourg Business Club.
Dimitar UZUNOV is a director, scriptwriter, and producer. In 2008, he founded the company Famille Mundi in Paris, through which he collaborated with artists from over 20 countries. Dimitar is a co-founder of Arte Urbana Collectif, an organization uniting artists and producers based in Sofia, and the founder and director of the Summer Scriptwriting Base, a summer academy that brings together creative minds from around the world. He is also the founder of the Theatre & Science platform and the Bulgarian edition of the Theatre of Wonder festival for science and art. Since 2023 he has been coordinating the European project Please ASK!, which produces stage works in partnership with scientists and science institutions.
Moderator: Maximilien VOHNOUT – Founder of NEO Cyber Camp, Partnerships and institutional relations manager for French Tech Sofia
Founder and CEO of NEO Cyber Camp, 10 years experience in IT infrastructure and projects, entrepreneur since 2019. Contributing to the development of French Tech Sofia through events, activities and relations management.
NEO Cyber Camp : a new way to learn cybersecurity with an online asynchronous school, NEO offers the possibility to learn and practice in an all-in-one platform that delivers certifications and diplomas.
Panel 3 – Supporting AI Innovation Ecosystems: Competitiveness vs. Regulation?
This panel will address the challenge of balancing the needs of an open, competitive and innovative tech environment with the necessity of legal regulation that will limit the unethical use of AI in order to safeguard the general interest.
Gilbert DELABROUSSE has graduated as INSA Engineer in France in 1990 and has spent more than 30 years in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in France, Canada and now in Bulgaria. He has participated as senior solution architect to several major PLM transformation programs. He has co-founded INENSIA in 2017 and is acting as CTO and Delivery Center lead in Bulgaria which provides PLM/MES expertise for customers operating in Europe and North America.
Emiliyan ENEV is an entrepreneur, speaker, and influencer in disruptive technologies and blockchain, as well as the founder of the Startup Factory association and the company ReCheck. Through ReCheck, he develops innovative solutions in the fields of digital sovereignty and user control over data. One of ReCheck’s latest products, DataPond, integrates blockchain technology with advanced AI to deliver cutting-edge solutions. With DataPond, web-based businesses can securely register their data on the blockchain, enabling access to AI tools. This ensures precise tracking and monetization of data used by AI systems, allowing data providers to receive fair compensation for their contributions. In addition, Emiliyan Enev is an active contributor to Semantif.AI, a boutique company specializing in AI tools such as chatbots and virtual agents. These tools streamline workflows, provide easy access to information, and enhance productivity.
Emiliyan Enev holds a master’s degree in Business Informatics and has completed a specialization at Bremen University in Germany.
Dimitar JEKOV serves as the Chief Commercial Officer at Mavenstat, a prominent provider of AI-driven video analytics solutions with over a decade of industry expertise. He is a seasoned professional with a robust knowledge base spanning technology, statistical analysis, business process optimization, and ethical practices.
Moderator: Maria KARASHANOVA is a tech journalist and editor at Economedia, where she specializes in artificial intelligence. In addition to her editorial work, she curates the weekly Kapital AI Newsletter DemistifAI.
This event takes place as one of the 50+ global events labelled ‘AI Action Summit’ that will take place in preparation for the Artificial Intelligence Summit, which will be held in Paris on February 10 and 11. More information HERE