Around 170 academic, industry and public sector partners came together this week for Edinburgh Innovations’ annual Fast Forward conference, this year on the theme of ‘Data, digital and AI: The future beyond the hype’.
Against a backdrop where expectations for long-term business benefit from generative AI remain high, while concerns grow about a potential AI bubble, a series of panel discussions, lightening talks and workshops interrogated where AI delivers verifiable benefit, and which use-cases genuinely justify their costs.
Discussions covered current ‘peak AI confusion’, hype and risk around agentic AI, getting your data right, trust and accountability and many more thorny issues. All agreed that both risk and opportunity are huge, and collaboration (plus clear success metrics) is key.
Dr Andrea Taylor, CEO of Edinburgh Innovations, said:
We talk so much about AI, but which AI are we talking about? We need to remember that AI is a set of tools and focus on making sure they are both ethical and fit for purpose.
The way to do this, as ever, is through collaboration – by bringing together the right - human - partners, such as those with the deep subject knowledge to create the technologies, and those with the skills and resources to adapt and deploy them for social and economic benefit. ”
Dr Shirley Cavin, Head of Emerging Capabilities (Data & AI) at innovative technologies company Leidos UK & Europe, joined the final reflections panel. She said:
Working with universities means you have the time to explore problems in a deep way, which I really value.
Universities are trying to enhance knowledge rather than sell something, which brings clarity and transparency. The technology is moving so fast we need to partner with the right partner at the right time, and universities can help industry solve the problems of tomorrow. ”
Professor Michael Rovatsos, Personal Chair of Artificial Intelligence in the School of Informatics, chaired the panel. He said:
An important factor in collaboration between universities and industry is time. Researchers excel at working on high-risk, early-stage technology development that leads to long-term innovation, so industry can benefit most from partnering with us for longer-term gains.
In complementary ways, industry is able to deliver new products and services faster and at scale. To seize the opportunity of AI, industry, universities and government need to work together to navigate what lies ahead – none of us can do it alone. ”
Organisers highlighted an upcoming Academic Industry Meeting Day (AIMDay), where public, private and third sector organisations can pose their pressing data and AI challenges for academics to answer. The deadline to ask a question is July 10, 2026 (link below).
Photography: Neil Hanna
