AICON 2026 has announced internationally renowned and Belfast-born AI ethicist, engineer and academic Nell Watson as its keynote speaker for this year’s conference, marking a major milestone as Ireland’s premier AI event moves to its new home at ICC Belfast.
Returning for its eighth year on Wednesday 23 September 2026, AICON will bring together business leaders, policymakers, technologists and AI practitioners to explore this year’s theme: ‘From Possible to Proven: Agents at Work.’
Nell Watson is recognised globally for her work on artificial intelligence ethics, machine intelligence governance and emerging technologies. She is the current President of Euraio and founder of Creed Space, as well as being an AI and Robotics faculty member at the Singularity University.
Her keynote address ‘The Agent at Work: Trust and Capability in the Age of Delegation’ will explore the growing role of AI agents, examining how organisations can safely delegate tasks to autonomous systems that are capable of planning, acting and coordinating on their behalf. Drawing on her work in AI ethics and safety, she will discuss the importance of trust, reliability and accountability in agentic AI, as well as the safeguards needed to ensure these systems operate effectively in real-world environments.
Artificial intelligence has continued to change the way that businesses and systems work across the globe. AICON will not focus on proving that AI works, but understanding how to deploy it effectively, safely and at scale. This year’s conference will bring together leading voices from across industry to explore how organisations are moving from experimentation to real-world implementation.
The conference also comes at an important moment for the development of AI in Northern Ireland, following the launch of the Executive’s consultation on its Draft Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
With the strategy setting out ambitions for the responsible, ethical and fair adoption of AI across the public sector, AICON will provide a timely forum for industry, government and academia to consider how Northern Ireland can realise the opportunities presented by AI while building trust, capability and effective governance around its use.
AICON 2026
The conference will once again feature its signature ‘twin-track’ format, with two programmes running in parallel: AI Delivered and AI Frontiers.
The AI Delivered track will focus on organisations that have successfully embedded AI into their operations, sharing practical lessons on scaling, AI governance, organisational transformation and business outcomes.
Meanwhile, AI Frontiers will explore the technologies and ideas shaping the next wave of innovation. Discussions will examine the rise of agentic AI systems, alongside the opportunities and challenges surrounding autonomy, security, implementation and trust.
AICON is curated by Kainos and supported by Matrix, Allstate, Options Technology, Danske Bank and the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC).
Speaking ahead of the conference, Gareth Workman, Chief AI Officer at Kainos, said: “AICON has always been about looking beyond the hype to understand what AI means in practice, and this year feels like a particularly important moment for that conversation.
“We are moving quickly from experimentation into an era where AI agents are becoming part of how organisations operate, make decisions and deliver services. The challenge now is not simply proving what the technology can do, but understanding how we deploy it responsibly, securely and at scale to create genuine value.
“Having Nell as our keynote speaker for AICON this year is particularly exciting. She brings an international perspective on some of the biggest questions surrounding AI, from ethics and governance to trust and autonomy, and will set the tone for what we hope will be our most ambitious AICON yet.”
Fiona Browne, Head of AI at Danske Bank, added “AI is developing at an extraordinary pace, but for organisations the real opportunity lies in moving beyond experimentation and identifying where it can deliver meaningful benefits for customers, colleagues and businesses.
“As adoption grows, it is equally important that innovation is underpinned by strong governance, transparency and trust. Events like AICON provide an important opportunity for organisations across different sectors to share what they are learning, challenge each other’s thinking and explore how AI can be implemented responsibly in the real world.
“I’m looking forward to being part of those conversations in Belfast and hearing from both local and international leaders who are helping to shape what comes next.”
