Day 2 of the AI Impact Summit brought a packed schedule of discussions, roundtables, and receptions - all centred on burning question: how do we move AI from principles to proof, from aspiration to adoption, and from theory to trusted implementation at scale?
The day kicked off with a techUK official AI Impact Summit panel "Global AI Assurance & Standards: From Principles to Proof" facilitated by Sue Daley OBE and co-hosted with BSI. The session featured a presentation by Professor Carsten Maple from the University of Warwick and the Alan Turing Institute, followed by a panel with Natasha Crampton, VP and Chief Responsible AI Officer at Microsoft, Tim McGarr, AI Market Development Lead at BSI and Raj Bharat Patel, AI Transformation Lead, Holistic AI. The discussion explored how assurance and standards can create the shared language and trust frameworks needed for AI to scale responsibly across borders and sectors.
The session brought together UK and international stakeholders for a thoughtful and practical discussion on how AI governance, far from being a drag on innovation, can act as the strategic enabler that allows organisations to move faster with confidence. One framing stood out: AI governance is the brakes on the car, essential for control and safety, but what actually allows you to drive at speed. The conversation explored how assurance should be embedded by design, with one powerful concept emerging: "assurance and evidence as a product." Rather than treating compliance as an afterthought, organisations should proactively generate, package, and demonstrate evidence of responsible AI practices as part of their offering.
The discussion covered the maturation of responsible AI as a discipline, no longer just about principles, but about operationalisation, documentation, testing, and measurable controls. ISO/IEC 42001, the AI management systems standard, was highlighted as an increasingly embedded expectation across sectors, particularly in financial services and other highly regulated environments. The conversation also emphasised the importance of responsibility across the entire AI supply chain, procurement-led risk framing, and the need for real-world testing at scale, not just at the design stage. A recurring theme throughout was that AI assurance is not regulatory box-ticking; it is economic strategy, underpinning trust, growth, and international competitiveness.
India AI Impact Summit 2026
India AI Impact Summit 2026
At lunchtime, some techUK delegates met with NASSCOM to discuss current partnerships, programme alignment, and potential paths forward for deeper UK-India collaboration on AI policy and industry engagement.
Meanwhile, other techUK delegates attended an event with Indian Minister of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary, where research on public sector AI adoption, conducted by Public First and Google, was unveiled.
India AI Impact Summit 2026
India AI Impact Summit 2026
India AI Impact Summit 2026
The Global AI Adoption Index for Public Services, based on a survey of over 3,000 public sector workers across ten countries including India and the UK, explores the practical realities of AI use in government. The research identified five key drivers of successful adoption: enthusiasm, empowerment, education and skills, enablement through access to the right tools, and the embedding of AI into everyday workflows. India ranked third globally, behind Saudi Arabia and Singapore, and led significantly on enthusiasm, with 83% of Indian public sector workers expressing optimism about AI, compared to just 43% in the UK. Minister Chaudhary shared thoughts on India's focus on impact and action and deploying AI to support people in their everyday lives and empower individuals.
We also welcomed many conversations throughout the later afternoon at our booth in the UK Pavillion, engaging with international visitors and showcasing the breadth of the UK's AI ecosystem.
The evening brought a series of well-attended industry receptions. Mozilla hosted a lively event focused on open source and community-driven innovation, emceed by CTO Raffi, while Credo AI gathered stakeholders to discuss AI governance in practice over drinks.
India AI Impact Summit 2026
India AI Impact Summit 2026
Another reception was hosted by AWS, following a panel discussion on the AI Adoption Initiative. Leaders including David Zapolsky, Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer at Amazon, Shubhi Agarwal, Co-Founder and COO of LocoBuzz, and UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan MP joined chair Kevin Allison to explore what other countries can learn from India and other nations using AI to innovate, upskill populations, and improve public service delivery. On the question of what role government and policymakers should play in driving AI adoption, the panel emphasised the importance of bringing people on the journey, finding AI champions and ambassadors, demonstrating proof of impact through use cases, and taking a place-based approach that makes the case for AI's benefits locally. Ensuring employees have the skills to use and trust AI tools was highlighted as essential, not just through early education, but through continuous industry-led upskilling as workers progress through their careers. The panel closed with a clear message: with the right champions, infrastructure, and skills at scale, AI adoption can and will happen. The event ended with a reception where techUK’s Sue Daley OBE gave a short address reinforcing the UK's commitment to AI adoption that is inclusive, skills-led, and grounded in real-world impact.
As Day 2 drew to a close, the momentum behind responsible, evidence-led AI adoption was unmistakable, and the UK-India partnership continues to emerge as a crucial axis in making it a reality.
The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi represents a pivotal moment in the global AI dialogue, marking the first time this summit series will be hosted in a developing economy.
Sabina Ciofu is International Policy and Strategy Lead at techUK, where she heads the International Policy and Trade Programme. Based in Brussels, she shapes global tech policy, digital trade, and regulatory cooperation across the EU, US, Canada, Asia-Pacific, and the Gulf region. She drives strategy, advocacy, and market opportunities for UK tech companies worldwide, ensuring their voice is heard in international policy debates.
With nearly a decade of previous experience as a Policy Advisor in the European Parliament, Sabina brings deep expertise in tech regulation, trade policy, and EU–US relations. Her work focuses on navigating and influencing the global digital economy to deliver real impact for members.
A passionate community-builder, Sabina co-founded Young Professionals in Digital Policy (800+ members) and now runs Old Professionals in Digital Policy (more experience, better wine, earlier nights). She is also the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club, a network of 500+ women supporting each other with kindness.
She holds advisory roles with the UCL European Institute, Café Transatlantique (a network of women in transatlantic tech policy), and The Nine, Brussels’ first members-only club for women.
Recognised by ComputerWeekly as one of the most influential women in UK tech, Sabina is also a sought-after public speaker on tech, trade and diversity.
Sabina holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.
Senior Programme Manager in Digital Ethics and AI Safety, techUK
Tess Buckley
Senior Programme Manager in Digital Ethics and AI Safety, techUK
Tess is a digital ethicist and musician. After completing a MA in AI and Philosophy, with a focus on ableism in biotechnologies, she worked as an AI Ethics Analyst with a dataset on corporate digital responsibility (paid for by investors that wanted to understand their portfolio risks). Tess then supported the development of a specialised model for sustainability disclosure requests. Currently, at techUK, her north star as programme manager in digital ethics and AI safety is demystifying, and operationalising ethics through assurance mechanisms and standards. Outside of Tess's work, her primary research interests are in AI music systems, AI fluency and tech by/for differently abled folks.
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work. This includes work programmes on AI, Cloud, Data, Quantum, Semiconductors, Digital ID and Digital ethics as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy. In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List. She has also been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the tech agenda in the UK, in December 2025 Sue was appointed to the UK Government’s Women in Tech Taskforce by the Technology Secretary of State. She also sits on the UK Government’s Smart Data Council, Satellite Applications Catapult Advisory Group, Bank of England’s AI Consortium and BSI’s Digital Strategic Advisory Group. Previously, Sue was a member of the Independent Future of Compute Review and co-chaired the National Data Strategy Forum. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries in 2020, Sue has been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and has been a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI, the UK Tech 50 and annual UK Cloud Awards. She is a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015, Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. Before that, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
techUK International Policy and Trade Programme activities
techUK supports members with their international trade plans and aspirations. We help members to understand market opportunities, tackle market access barriers, and build partnerships in their target market. Visit the programme page here.
International Trade Conference 2026 | Time to Trade: Taking UK Tech to the World in 2026
On 3 March, we will bring together tech experts, policy makers, academics and thought leaders at techUK’s flagship International Policy & Trade Conference
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Sabina Ciofu is International Policy and Strategy Lead at techUK, where she heads the International Policy and Trade Programme. Based in Brussels, she shapes global tech policy, digital trade, and regulatory cooperation across the EU, US, Canada, Asia-Pacific, and the Gulf region. She drives strategy, advocacy, and market opportunities for UK tech companies worldwide, ensuring their voice is heard in international policy debates.
With nearly a decade of previous experience as a Policy Advisor in the European Parliament, Sabina brings deep expertise in tech regulation, trade policy, and EU–US relations. Her work focuses on navigating and influencing the global digital economy to deliver real impact for members.
A passionate community-builder, Sabina co-founded Young Professionals in Digital Policy (800+ members) and now runs Old Professionals in Digital Policy (more experience, better wine, earlier nights). She is also the founder of the Gentlewomen’s Club, a network of 500+ women supporting each other with kindness.
She holds advisory roles with the UCL European Institute, Café Transatlantique (a network of women in transatlantic tech policy), and The Nine, Brussels’ first members-only club for women.
Recognised by ComputerWeekly as one of the most influential women in UK tech, Sabina is also a sought-after public speaker on tech, trade and diversity.
Sabina holds an MA in War Studies from King’s College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.
Senior Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK
Daniel Clarke
Senior Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade, techUK
Dan joined techUK as a Policy Manager for International Policy and Trade in March 2023.
Before techUK, Dan worked for data and consulting company GlobalData as an analyst of tech and geopolitics. He has also worked in public affairs, political polling, and has written freelance for the New Statesman and Investment Monitor.
Dan has a degree in MSc International Public Policy from University College London, and a BA Geography degree from the University of Sussex.
Outside of work, Dan is a big fan of football, cooking, going to see live music, and reading about international affairs.
Theo joined techUK in 2024 as EU Policy Manager. Based in Brussels, he works on our EU policy and engagement.
Theo is an experienced policy adviser who has helped connect EU and non-EU decision makers.
Prior to techUK, Theo worked at the EU delegation to Australia, the Israeli trade mission to the EU, and the City of London Corporation’s Brussels office. In his role, Theo ensures that techUK members are well-informed about EU policy, its origins, and its implications, while also facilitating valuable input to Brussels-based decision-makers.
Theo holds and LLM in International and European law, and an MA in European Studies, both from the University of Amsterdam.
Tess joined techUK as an Policy and Public Affairs Team Assistant in November of 2024. In this role, she supports areas such as administration, member communications and media content.
Before joining the Team, she gained experience working as an Intern in both campaign support for MPs and Councilors during the 2024 Local and General Election, and working for the Casimir Pulaski Foundation on defence and international secuirty. She has worked for multiple charities, on issues such as the climate crisis, educational inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). In 2023, Tess obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham.
Programme Manager, Digital Ethics and AI Safety, techUK
Tess is the Programme Manager for Digital Ethics and AI Safety at techUK.
Prior to techUK Tess worked as an AI Ethics Analyst, which revolved around the first dataset on Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR), and then later the development of a large language model focused on answering ESG questions for Chief Sustainability Officers. Alongside other responsibilities, she distributed the dataset on CDR to investors who wanted to further understand the digital risks of their portfolio, she drew narratives and patterns from the data, and collaborate with leading institutes to support academics in AI ethics. She has authored articles for outlets such as ESG Investor, Montreal AI Ethics Institute, The FinTech Times, and Finance Digest. Covered topics like CDR, AI ethics, and tech governance, leveraging company insights to contribute valuable industry perspectives. Tess is Vice Chair of the YNG Technology Group at YPO, an AI Literacy Advisor at Humans for AI, a Trustworthy AI Researcher at Z-Inspection Trustworthy AI Labs and an Ambassador for AboutFace.
Tess holds a MA in Philosophy and AI from Northeastern University London, where she specialised in biotechnologies and ableism, following a BA from McGill University where she joint-majored in International Development and Philosophy, minoring in communications. Tess’s primary research interests include AI literacy, AI music systems, the impact of AI on disability rights and the portrayal of AI in media (narratives). In particular, Tess seeks to operationalise AI ethics and use philosophical principles to make emerging technologies explainable, and ethical.
Outside of work Tess enjoys kickboxing, ballet, crochet and jazz music.
On 11 September, techUK held a workshop from 9:30 to 12:30 with DSIT’s Responsible Technology Adoption Unit (RTA), featuring an address from Felicity Burch, Director of RTA and facilitation by Nuala Polo, AI Assurance Lead of RTA with attendance from techUK’s Digital Ethics working group members. This session allowed for testing and feedback on a forthcoming assurance tool set for public consultation in Autumn 2024.
The International AI Safety Report 2026 has been released today on 3 February 2026, marking the second iteration of the most comprehensive global assessment of artificial intelligence capabilities, risks, and safety measures.
