PHAROS AI Factory, Greece’s national ecosystem for accelerating Artificial Intelligence innovation, participated in the Athens Democracy Forum 2025, held from 30 September to 3 October 2025.
Organized by the Democracy & Culture Foundation, in association with The New York Times, the Athens Democracy Forum is an annual international event that brings together global leaders from academia, government, business, and civil society to explore the evolving role of democracy in addressing technological and societal challenges.
This year’s Forum, held in the Greek capital, Athens, placed a special focus on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Democracy, with a series of sessions examining how emerging AI technologies interact with ethics, governance and the public.
PHAROS’ Consortium representatives, Prof. Stefanos Kollias, Chairman of GRNET, Professor Emeritus at NTUA and PHAROS Project Coordinator, Dr. Vangelis Karkaletsis, Vice President of NCSRD & PHAROS Project Technical coordinator and Dr. Afrodite Sevasti, Growthfund’s Chief Technology Officer, took part in the AI, Ethics & Democracy sessions, contributing to high-level discussions on the ethical, political, and infrastructural dimensions of Artificial Intelligence.
Highlights of PHAROS Participation
Prof. S. Kollias participated in the lively “New York Times–Style Debate: Aristotle and AI,” held on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, as a juror alongside Despina Spanou and Lex Paulson, exploring whether the ethical framework developed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle offers a compelling approach to addressing the challenges and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence today.
The following day, Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Prof. S. Kollias joined the panel discussion “Hope and Reality for the Flagship Programs of the Blueprint” alongside Marios Dafnomilis, Adviser for Strategic Foresight at the Presidency of the Hellenic Government. The discussion took place within the session “A.I. Factories: Infrastructure, Politics and Responsibility” and explored the progress and challenges of Greece’s national flagship programs under the digital transformation blueprint. Professor Kollias highlighted PHAROS as a key initiative demonstrating how large-scale A.I. infrastructure can translate strategic national priorities into technological leadership and societal impact.
During the same day, the above-mentioned PHAROS Consortium representatives took part in the session “A.I. Factories: Scaling, Alignment, Infrastructure” contributing to discussions on how A.I. factories can produce scalable A.I. systems while remaining aligned with human values and societal needs.
Dr. V. Karkaletsis delivered a presentation titled “A.I. Factories and Giga Factories: The European Strategy” highlighting their essential contribution to Europe’s technological autonomy and competitiveness through responsible, large-scale A.I. development. He also joined the panel discussion on “Safety, Scalability, Frontier Models, the Sovereign Cloud and Data Protection” where he emphasized the importance of trusted ecosystems, sovereign infrastructures, and robust data protection frameworks to ensure that A.I. growth remains aligned with human values and societal needs.
In the same context, Prof. S. Kollias presented “PHAROS: The Greek AI Factory Project”, outlining its mission to provide advanced infrastructure, data and collaboration opportunities that enable scalable, trustworthy and human-centered A.I. innovation in Greece and across Europe. The presentation highlighted PHAROS as a key national initiative, designed to unify infrastructure, data, and expertise to drive responsible and human-centered A.I. development. Emphasis was placed on interconnecting academia, industry, and the public sector, fostering an ecosystem that supports data-driven decision-making, ethical governance, and technological sovereignty within the European A.I. landscape.
Finally, Dr. Afrodite Sevasti joined the panel discussion “The A.I. Factory as a Business Model”, where she addressed how A.I. factories can serve as engines of sustainable growth, generating both economic and social value for Greece. Her intervention emphasized the importance of ethical use, transparency, and resilience in A.I. systems to reinforce democratic principles and public trust, while stressing that investing in human talent and innovation capacity is key to enabling Greece’s transition toward an intelligence-driven economy.
Commitment to Responsible AI Innovation
Through their participation, the representatives showcased PHAROS AI Factory’s commitment to advancing trustworthy, human-centered, and sustainable AI innovation in Europe.
For more information about the Athens Democracy Forum 2025, including the full event agenda and the list of sessions, visit its official website here.
