Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing politics, public administration, and business. A discussion at Bratislava Castle highlighted the need for education, sensible regulation, and clear human accountability. The goal is to harness the benefits of the technology without succumbing to its risks.
Politics between innovation and risk
In politics, AI is already emerging as a tool but also as a threat, especially in campaigns and in the spread of deepfake content. The key is to distinguish whether the problem is the fake image itself or how society reacts to it. Hence the need was voiced to clearly label AI content and protect citizens from what they cannot verify on their own. At the same time, we must avoid excessive regulation that would stifle innovation.
Regulation should define high-risk areas and, in case of violations, enable real sanctions, which is especially challenging with global platforms. Alongside rules, it is essential to build societal resilience through education, because not everything will be technically controllable. Threats to public opinion and democracy will grow, but fear should not slow the positive contribution of technologies.
State and local government: faster processes, human decisions
In parliament, AI can help mainly with drafting and reviewing laws, much as it already does in law firms today. It can more quickly detect contradictions between provisions and save legislators time, especially during periods when laws are coming in like on a conveyor belt. Another area is professional transcription of speeches, translations, and automatic subtitling, which would make content accessible to a broader audience. Here too, however, quality is needed, not ordinary "consumer" tools.
In public administration, practical pilots are taking shape: comparing land registry records with tax returns, or generating draft responses to requests immediately upon receipt. AI can calculate fees, propose text, and speed up the work of offices even with smaller teams. In the end, though, a human must be the one who bears responsibility for the decision.
Companies and education: how to start and what's next
In companies, the best investment is educating people and small, quick pilots that demonstrate concrete benefits. Many enterprises are already increasing profitability by having AI finely tune processes and analyze data in ways a human cannot catch amid the volume of information. AI often comes "as a service", without major hardware interventions, which makes getting started easier. What matters is the spark from below: when people see how AI saves them time, they themselves look for further uses.
The year 2024 favors generative video and specialized models for specific professions. Alongside the younger generation, people 40+ also need targeted training, which some countries are already planning at scale. The ambition should not be a "superintelligent" AI without boundaries, but a human-compatible technology that strengthens human capabilities rather than replacing them.
