Rules of the game

The last day is free and spread across at least four locations in the city. Why open AI up to the wider public, and what will someone who has barely used it actually experience?

Artificial intelligence cannot remain the privilege of tech companies, experts and those who can afford expensive training. It is becoming part of everyday life, so an understanding of what it can do has to be open to everyone. That is why we built AI Week on four pillars: Think, Build, Experience, and Celebrate. For the first two days we will think, debate and present concrete solutions, and on the third we will take artificial intelligence out of the conference hall and onto the streets of Ljubljana.

At venues across the city, visitors will come into direct contact with the technology and with the people and ideas that are already changing the world around us. The day begins at the City Hall with an AI brunch and a presentation of Supermesto Ljubljana 2045, a vision of the city two decades on, continues with a hands-on workshop at the Ljubljana Technology Park and other demonstrations around town, and ends with a celebration. Someone who has barely used AI can leave with a very simple but important realisation: the future is not something we only watch. It is something we can take part in.

Among the speakers is an inspector from AKOS who will talk about labelling AI-generated content. Is Slovenia ahead of the rest of the region in implementing the EU's AI Act, or behind it?

I would not talk about a race over who passed a law or appointed a competent authority first. The real measure of success will be how quickly we turn the rules into understanding, trust and the responsible use of technology. As a member of the European Union, Slovenia starts from a different place than most of the Western Balkans, but the European regulatory framework does not by itself give us an advantage.

Labelling AI content matters particularly because the line between the authentic and the synthetic is blurring ever faster. This is not only about compliance with the law. It is about trust in information, in the media, in companies and in institutions. That is why AI Week brings lawyers, regulators, researchers and business together. Regulation should set the rules of the game, not stop the game. Our job is to help companies understand how they can innovate safely and competitively within those rules.

Where do you see the biggest gap between how companies use AI in Slovenia and in the Western Balkans?

I do not necessarily see the biggest gap between Slovenia and the Western Balkans, but between companies that use artificial intelligence as a handy tool and those that understand it as a strategic change in how they do business. That divide exists on both sides of the border. Slovenia has a strong research environment, access to European programmes and well-developed technological infrastructure. The countries of the Western Balkans often have a marked entrepreneurial agility, adaptability and a capacity to test new approaches quickly. Conditions, of course, vary a great deal between individual countries and sectors.

Our biggest danger is not that artificial intelligence will overtake us, but that we will be overtaken by those who know how to use it better. A company that uses AI only to write emails faster has not been digitally transformed. Real change comes when AI improves decision-making, connects data, removes inefficiencies and creates new value. That is also where I see an opportunity for regional co-operation: Slovenia and the Western Balkans have far better prospects if they pool their knowledge, experience and good practice than if each tries to keep pace with the global technology powers on its own.

If you could recommend readers just one event from the programme, which would it be?

It is very hard to choose only one, because I designed AI Week around four pillars that differ in content but belong together, and I believe we need all four. The first day is about the bigger picture: where we are heading as a society, as Slovenia, as the European Union and as a world, and the questions of responsibility, regulation and development that come with it. The second day is completely different, decidedly business-minded, a real business vibe, about concrete solutions, business models, efficiency and how artificial intelligence is already changing companies, industries and the competitiveness of the economy.

But if I really had to choose, I would invite readers to the third day, 5 November, Experience and Celebrate, when we move artificial intelligence out of the conference hall and into the city. AI Week will not end with the last slide, but with Ljubljana becoming an open AI laboratory for a day. If we want people to understand the future, we cannot only explain it to them. We have to give them the chance to experience it.