The program was diverse and aligned with current market needs. It featured keynote speeches, three parallel tracks (Engineering, Business/Implementation, Research), panel discussions on regulation, ethics, and responsible AI use, as well as workshops and demo zones for startups. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Croatia-Slovenia office supported the Croatian Society for Artificial Intelligence (CroAI) in organizing the event, particularly for program segments covering legal, regulatory, and ethical aspects.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation by Daniel Lampertseder, Principal Data Engineer, titled “Agentic AI – When Artificial Intelligence Acts Independently.” He explained how AI is evolving from assistive tools to autonomous systems that can act and plan on their own, increasingly shaping the future of industry, the public sector, and society.
The speakers highlighted that AI is already being successfully applied in Croatia across a wide range of areas, including security, healthcare, retail, telecommunications, and public services. Implementing the EU AI Act plays a central role in ensuring responsibility, transparency, safety, and compliance. However, the success of AI does not depend solely on the models themselves, but also on data infrastructure, system integration, security, and lifecycle management.
Another key focus of the conference was on talent development, education, strengthening local expertise, and regional collaboration. These efforts position Croatia as a leading AI hub in Central and Eastern Europe, connecting academia, startups, large enterprises, and the broader community, fostering high-level knowledge sharing and innovation.
