Stefanos Kollias, Chairman of GRNET, Professor Emeritus at the National Technical University of Athens and Coordinator of PHAROS, the Greek AI Factory, 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 leaders from academia, politics, business, and civil society to discuss the evolving role of democracy in addressing global challenges. This year’s edition, held in the Greek capital, featured a series of AI-focused sessions, gathering global experts to explore the intersection of technology, ethics, and democratic governance.
Professor Kollias engaged in sessions dedicated to Artificial Intelligence, contributing to discussions on the ethical, political, and infrastructural dimensions of AI. Focusing on the intersection of AI and ethics, he 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, 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.
Prof. S. Kollias also took part in the session “A.I. Factories: Scaling, Alignment, Infrastructure” held on the same day, contributing insights on how A.I. factories can produce scalable systems that remain aligned with human values and societal needs. In this context, he delivered a presentation on “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.
His contributions reflected GRNET’s and PHAROS AI Factory’s shared commitment to advancing trustworthy, human-centered, and sustainable AI innovation in Europe.
For more information about the Athens Democracy Forum 2025, including the full program and the list of sessions, visit its official website here.
