Former Minister Ossian Smyth to join Tech Thursday in Kilkenny

HEADLESS: Tech Thursday asks what happens when technology starts losing its head… with special guest former Minister Ossian Smyth at Harry’s Bar in Langtons on John Street on October 29.

“This Halloween, Tech Thursday is taking a closer look at some of the more unsettling ideas shaping the future of technology. And maybe a good scare isn’t always a bad thing. Or is it?” says Tech Thursday founder John Cleere.

HEADLESS takes its cue from the Headless Horseman: something moving forward at speed and not in control. Technology can increasingly feel the same. AI systems are acting with greater autonomy, software is becoming “headless”, and many of the structures we have relied on are beginning to change.

The question behind HEADLESS is simple:

Which of the scary stories about technology are just modern-day folklore, and which ones should we actually be paying attention to?

Joining John Cleere for three individual conversations will be Michael Bambrick Wallace Corporate Counsel, Barry Hayes, Tirlán and special guest Ossian Smyth, former Minister of State and now a startup founder.

Michael Bambrick will explore “The Devil’s in the Detail”, looking at where emerging technology, investment and entrepreneurship may be taking us next.

Barry Hayes will tackle “The Monsters in the Machine”, exploring some of the increasingly strange possibilities emerging around AI, technology and finance.

Completing the evening will be former Minister of State Ossian Smyth, joining John for “The Minister from the Other Side”, a conversation about what he learned Ed delivering major programs in government and what he sees coming next from his new perspective outside it.

During his time in Government, Smyth had responsibility for Communications and the Circular Economy and was involved in delivering successful national programmes including Ireland’s National Broadband Plan and the Deposit Return Scheme.

He is now co-founder of FibreChain, a textile technology startup focused on Digital Product Passports and Textile EPR.

His alternative approach to building a startup fits closely with the thinking behind HEADLESS. It also gives the evening a chance to move beyond predictions and hear from someone who has delivered major national programmes and is now experiencing the realities of building a technology company himself.

“AI will take more jobs and change many more. But that also gives us an even greater opportunity to focus on what is distinctly human: creativity, judgement, imagination and our ability to design more resilient, more interesting and more exciting companies.

This isn’t theory; it’s hard practice. And I think we need much more of that kind of practical conversation within the regional business community.” says Cleere.

HEADLESS is part of Tech Thursday, an enterprise-led community bringing together people working across technology, business, design and the wider community to explore emerging change.

The Halloween edition will feature three focused conversations, each taking one potentially frightening idea about the future and asking what is really happening beneath the headline.

HEADLESS will take place at 7:30 pm at Harry’s Bar on Thursday (October 29). Free booking: Bit.ly/headlesskilkenny