Athens Innovation Summit 2025: A Night Where Athens Looked to the Future

On a September evening beneath the glow of the Acropolis, the ancient stones of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus became the stage for a conversation about the future. Endeavor Greece hosted the 2nd Athens Innovation Summit, in partnership with Google Greece, a gathering designed to connect the city’s legacy of bold ideas with today’s most transformative force: Artificial Intelligence.

It all began in 2022, when Endeavor Greece launched the Summit with a bold yet simple vision: to bring global innovators to the birthplace of democracy and ignite a conversation on how entrepreneurship and technology can shape a fairer, more resilient, and more prosperous world. This year, with the second edition of the Athens Innovation Summit, we built on that promise and positioned Athens as a rising hub for the global dialogue on ethical innovation and AI.

At the center of the evening stood Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic. Guiding them was Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor. What followed was less a debate and more a shared reflection: how do we make sure technology serves humanity, not the other way around?

We also heard opening remarks from Costantza Sbokou-Constantakopoulou, Chairwoman of Endeavor Greece, Panagiotis Karampinis, Managing Director of Endeavor Greece, and Peggy Antonakou, General Manager of Google Southeast Europe - who each offered perspectives on why this moment, and this gathering, mattered.

Looking Back to Look Ahead

Both speakers began with history. Prime Minister Mitsotakis evoked the lessons of classical Athens - collective action, dialogue, and responsibility for the common good. Hassabis, who has dedicated his life to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, called ancient Greece the birthplace of science and philosophy. His reminder was stark: AI could change our world ten times bigger and ten times faster than the Industrial Revolution.

Athens as a New Frontier

Hassabis explained why he kept DeepMind rooted in London - proof that world-changing innovation doesn’t have to come from Silicon Valley alone. Europe, he argued, must have its own voice and values in AI’s ethical development.

For Mitsotakis, that vision resonated with Greece’s own ambition to become an “Innovation Nation.” He pointed to the country’s investments in AI factories, startup incentives, and the integration of AI into public services like healthcare and education. His goal: to position Greece not as a follower, but as a leader, leapfrogging into the digital future.

Wrestling with AI’s Big Questions

The conversation shifted to the dilemmas shaping AI’s future.

• Should we regulate AI tightly, or risk innovation running unchecked? Hassabis called for international standards rooted in science, while Mitsotakis stressed balance: rules strong enough to prevent harm, but flexible enough to let innovation thrive.

• Will AI create radical abundance - or deepen inequality? Hassabis painted a hopeful picture of breakthroughs in medicine, energy, and materials. Mitsotakis warned of wealth concentration and job losses unless governments step in to share benefits more fairly.

• What will happen to jobs, education, and the essence of being human? Both saw education as key, but with different emphases: Mitsotakis on aligning schools with real-world skills and emotional intelligence, Hassabis on “meta-skills” - the ability to learn, adapt, and think across disciplines. Both agreed AI should enhance creativity and highlight uniquely human qualities, from caregiving to critical thinking.

• And what about democracy? Deepfakes, polarization, and engagement-driven algorithms were top of mind. Mitsotakis urged safeguards against manipulation, while Hassabis imagined AI assistants that would prioritize well-being, exposing us to diverse viewpoints rather than reinforcing echo chambers.

Towards a Human-Centered Future

As the evening drew to a close, one truth stood out: AI is more than a technological shift. It is a societal one. To navigate it, we must blend disciplines- technology, philosophy, governance, and the arts - just as Athens once blended ideas to create democracy itself.

The Athens Innovation Summit is more than an event. It is a bet that the city that once shaped human thought can again host the global dialogue we need. For Endeavor Greece, this is just the beginning: the ambition is to make Athens an annual meeting point for the world’s top pioneers, where innovation is not only celebrated but shaped- with ethics and humanity at its core.