Since 2017, the Digital Ethics Summit has established itself as the premier gathering where leading practitioners, technical experts, legal professionals, and policymakers convene to explore frameworks for ethical AI implementation, assess regulatory developments, and share approaches to responsible innovation. With a diverse array of speakers, the Summit has consistently driven a forward-looking agenda focused on translating discussion into actionable outcomes.
This year’s Summit takes stock of the last twelve months and examines the current health of digital ethics in a year that has witnessed both progress and change. The Summit will unpack how the conversation around operationalising ethical principles has turned towards compliance and audit. It will discuss the growing recognition by governments and businesses that assurance serves as a key enabler of public trust and commercial adoption and what this means for the digital ethics debate. The Summit will also reflect on the continued technological developments seen in open source, frontier AI, agentic and physical AI, identify the ethical questions that have been raised that now must be answered. It will also consider the impact of geopolitical shifts where the language of security and sovereignty appears to have superseded human well-being and individual safety.
Through panel discussions, keynote speakers and interactive workshops, leaders from industry and the digital ethics community will once again come together to discuss the practical realities of implementing ethical principles. We look forward to gathering in this breakthrough year for AI assurance, where the public debate has focused on driving forward AI as an enabler of economic growth and public service delivery. We will meet responsible AI practitioners working on the front lines of AI adoption to understand what is happening in reality day-to-day. As AI scales in every industry and sector, the Summit will discuss concerns related to AI compute and energy and whether frugal AI could be a viable solution to ensuring we get AI right not just for the economy and society, but also for the planet. Finally, we will ask what this all means for the Digital Ethics community in the UK as we look ahead to 2026. Does the UK have the right institutional structures, professional capacity, and investment needed to maintain its leadership in human-centered design, ethical foresight and rigor at scale as the global digital ethics discussion continues to shift and change?
Event information
Date: Wednesday 3 December
Timings: 09:00 - 17:00 GMT (please note timings may be subject to change as the agenda is finalised)
Tickets:
- techUK member ticket - free
- Non-member ticket - £150.00 + VAT
Complimentary tickets are available to Public Sector representatives, civil society organisations, students and academics, as well as the wider community interested in digital ethics. If you would like to apply for a free ticket, please contact [email protected]
Please note: a refund will be given on cancellations received in writing 6 weeks prior to the event. Regrettably no refunds can be given after this date. Full terms and conditions can be viewed here.
For any queries about the summit, reach out to one of our team:
Tess Buckley
Tess Buckley
A digital ethicist and musician, Tess holds a MA in AI and Philosophy, specialising in ableism in biotechnologies. Their professional journey includes working as an AI Ethics Analyst with a dataset on corporate digital responsibility, followed by supporting the development of a specialised model for sustainability disclosure requests. Currently at techUK as programme manager in digital ethics and AI safety, Tess focuses on demystifying and operationalising ethics through assurance mechanisms and standards. Their primary research interests encompass AI music systems, AI fluency, and technology created by and for differently abled individuals. Their overarching goal is to apply philosophical principles to make emerging technologies both explainable and ethical.
Outside of work Tess enjoys kickboxing, ballet, crochet and jazz music.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- tessbuckley.me
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tesssbuckley/
Margot Stumm
Margot Stumm
Margot joined techUK in September 2022 as the Head of Events and Sponsorship, running the event programme for our flagship events, such as the techUK Annual Dinner, Defence Ethics Summit, Building the Smarter State etc
Prior to this role, Margot managed events and external affairs for the Centre for Policy Studies, a political think tank in Westminster and also worked at the D Group, a London-based business membership organisation, where she was responsible for the events programme, account management and business strategy.
She holds a BA in Technical Translation in English, French and Spanish from Paris 7 - Denis Diderot and a MA in International Relations from the London Metropolitan University.
Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, going to concerts and snowboarding.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Twitter:
- @margot_stumm,@margot_stumm
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/margot-stumm-82ba15128
Dora Pass
Dora Pass
Dora joined techUK in October 2019 as an Events Assistant, coordinating and delivering our flagship events.
Prior to joining the team, Dora worked as a Senior Events Coordinator at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors at Parliament Square managing conferences and high profile ministerial events.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2003
