Ireland’s leading AI conference, AICON 2026, brought business leaders, policymakers, technologists and AI practitioners together at ICC Belfast on Wednesday 23 September to explore how artificial intelligence is moving from experimentation to real-world implementation.
Returning for its eighth year, and taking place at ICC Belfast for the first time, the conference centred on the theme ‘From Possible to Proven: Agents at Work’, examining how organisations can deploy AI effectively, safely and at scale.
Belfast-born AI ethicist, engineer and academic Nell Watson delivered the conference’s keynote address, ‘The Agent at Work: Trust and Capability in the Age of Delegation’.
Recognised globally for her work on artificial intelligence ethics, machine intelligence governance and emerging technologies, Nell explored the growing role of AI agents and how organisations can safely delegate tasks to autonomous systems capable of planning, acting and coordinating on their behalf.
Drawing on her work in AI ethics and safety, she examined the importance of trust, reliability and accountability in agentic AI, alongside the safeguards needed to ensure these systems operate effectively in real-world environments.
The conference was officially opened by Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, following a welcome from Kainos Chief AI Officer Gareth Workman and an address from Lord Mayor of Belfast Róis-Máire Donnelly.
The morning programme also included the launch of the Quantum Technologies Report, commissioned by Matrix on behalf of the Department for the Economy, and a session examining why Northern Ireland has the potential to lead the way in the practical adoption of AI.
This year’s AICON came at an important moment for the development of artificial intelligence 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 provided a 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.
Following the opening sessions, AICON once again featured its signature twin-track format, with AI Delivered and AI Frontiers programmes running in parallel. Across both tracks, a consistent theme emerged: the AI conversation is moving beyond whether the technology works towards how organisations can deploy it responsibly, successfully and at scale.
AICON 2026 brought those questions together in Belfast, providing a platform for the people developing, governing and implementing AI to share what is working now and examine what comes next.
Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said:
“This conference demonstrates both the growing importance of AI and the strength of the ecosystem developing here in the north. The conversation is evolving rapidly – in line with the pace of change in AI technology itself, with a growing recognition that AI will be a key driver of competitiveness, productivity and innovation across our economy. The north is well positioned to seize this opportunity.
“To not only to adopt AI, but to develop, commercialise and deploy AI-enabled products and services that compete internationally and create good jobs. We already have many of the ingredients for success: internationally recognised strengths in software, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing; world-class universities and colleges; and, most importantly, people with the talent and adaptability to embrace technological change.
“The opportunity before us is not simply to use AI. It is to shape how AI is developed, adopted and applied and if we get this right, AI can help us boost productivity, create opportunity and improve lives right across the north.”
Gareth Workman, Chief AI Officer at Kainos, said:
“AI has moved beyond the point where organisations are simply asking what might be possible. The focus now is on how we turn that potential into practical applications that deliver genuine value for businesses, public services and society.
“That is what AICON 2026 has been about – bringing together the people developing, deploying and governing AI to share what is working, learn from one another and address some of the challenges that come with adoption at scale. Northern Ireland has a strong technology sector, world-class talent and a real opportunity to play a leading role in this next phase of AI, but doing that successfully will depend on building trust, developing the right skills and making sure responsible deployment remains at the heart of innovation.”
AICON is curated by Kainos and supported by Matrix, Allstate, Options Technology, Danske Bank and the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC).
