Last week, NexGen Cyber had the privilege of attending the sixth annual John McCarthy AI Summer School at the RDI Hub in Killorglin, County Kerry. This year’s event brought together leading minds from academia, industry, and government to explore the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the financial sector.
A Special Moment for NexGen Cyber
We were especially proud that our own Michael O’Connor was invited to open Day 2 with his keynote presentation: “AI Security: Building Trust and Resilience in Your Business.” Michael shared practical strategies for integrating AI securely into business operations. Michael’s presentation emphasised the importance of trust, transparency, and resilience as AI adoption accelerates in the financial sector.
“It was an honour to kick off Day 2 and share NexGen Cyber’s vision for secure, trustworthy AI. The energy and collaboration at the RDI Hub was inspiring, this is where the future of AI in Ireland is being shaped.”
— Michael O’Connor
Event Highlights
The two-day event featured a stellar line up of speakers and panels, including:
- Hrvoje Smolic (Graphite Note): “AI for Finance: From Hype to Decisions That Matter”
- Alison McMurtrie (iDunn Consulting): “The Agentic AI Opportunity: Where Fintech Builders and Investors Should Look and Avoid”
- David Kearney (Numra): “AI Agents for Finance Operations”
- Veronica Breene (Vesta Insights): “Agentic Lending”
- Professor Vasant Dhar (NYU Stern): “Thinking With Machines in Finance”
- Professor Ciara Heavin (UCC): “Agentic AI in Finance: Ethical Challenges and Leadership Responsibilities”
- Michael Dowling (Narrative Banking)
- Jane Cummings (Outmin.io): “From Assistant to Automation: Building AI Agents to Eliminate Bookkeeping Work”
- Sudha Alagappan (NeuralBI): “Bias Detection and Mitigation in AI”
- Micheál O’Shea (Metamo): “AI Lending Innovation for Credit Unions”
- Gosia Keating, KPI Payments, “AI in Payments: Reducing Declines, Boosting Approvals”
Speaker Spotlights
Sudha Alagappan, NeuralBI
Sudha Alagappan, Founder & CEO of NeuralBI, delivered a standout presentation on bias detection and mitigation in AI. Sudha’s business is leading the way in developing strategies and solutions to identify and reduce bias in AI systems. Her work is helping businesses ensure their AI-driven decisions are fair, ethical, and transparent, setting a new standard for responsible AI adoption in Ireland and beyond.
Prof Louise McCormack, Adapt Centre
Prof Louise McCormack (Adapt Centre) delivered a compelling talk titled “Trustworthy AI Governance and the EU AI Act for Credit Risk Evaluation Models.” Louise’s presentation provided real-world use cases and examples on ethics by design and privacy by design, highlighting how these principles are essential for building trustworthy AI in finance.
She emphasized that while AI excels at logic and rules, humans bring an innate ability to make good decisions and act ethically, qualities that cannot be replicated by algorithms alone. Louise argued that a future where AI is guided by human oversight will deliver the greatest value, ensuring that technology serves society’s best interests. Her insights reinforced the importance of embedding ethical and privacy considerations from the outset, especially as the EU AI Act sets new standards for responsible AI in credit risk evaluation and beyond.
We would highly recommend watching Louise’s Ted Talk here.
Micheál O’Shea, Metamo
Micheál O’Shea, CTO at Metamo, provided an insightful talk on how AI is helping to shape lending for credit unions in Ireland. He demonstrated how Metamo’s AI-powered solutions are enabling credit unions to compete head-to-head with neo banks and traditional Irish banks. By leveraging AI and open banking technology, Metamo has dramatically reduced loan approval times, streamlined paperwork, and empowered credit unions to offer a seamless digital lending experience. Micheál emphasized that Metamo’s approach is to “augment, not replace” the human touch in lending, ensuring that AI supports credit union staff and strengthens member relationships.
Why This Matters for Cybersecurity
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in financial services, the intersection with cybersecurity is more critical than ever. NexGen Cyber’s participation reflects our commitment to staying at the forefront of AI-driven innovation, ensuring that as financial institutions adopt new technologies, they do so securely and responsibly.
Looking Ahead
The John McCarthy AI Summer School is fast becoming a must-attend event for anyone interested in the future of AI in Ireland and beyond. We’re grateful to Kerry MacConnell, all of the RDI Hub team and all partners for creating a space where ideas, research, and practical solutions converge.
NexGen Cyber looks forward to applying the insights gained to help our clients navigate the evolving landscape of AI and cybersecurity.
Interested in learning more about the event?
Visit the official RDI Hub AI Summer School page for the full agenda and speaker list.
If you’d like to receive a copy of Michael O’Connor’s presentation, contact us here or reach out to our team at NexGen Cyber. We’re happy to share insights on building trust and resilience in your business with AI security.
