On 11 September 2025, GLOBSEC organized a CEE Her Roundtable in Prague titled “Resilient Futures: The Role of Technology in Strengthening Societies”, that brought together women leaders, innovators, and changemakers from across sectors to reflect on how emerging technologies—especially artificial intelligence—can both support and challenge democratic resilience.

With AI reshaping the way societies function, the discussion highlighted both opportunities and risks: AI can support crisis preparedness, healthcare, and education, yet it also amplifies threats such as disinformation, cyberattacks, and social inequalities. Moderated by Lukáš Benzl, Executive Director of the Czech Association for AI, the roundtable was kicked off by Kateřina Lesch (EmbedIT), Kateřina Anna Magna (Microsoft), Alžběta Solarczyk Krausová (Respectful AI), and Eva Telěcká (MSD Czech Republic).

The debate focused on questions such as:

  • How can technology help strengthen societal and institutional resilience, especially when shaped by women’s leadership and lived experiences?
  • What unintended risks do AI and digital systems pose to democracy, and how might these risks impact women and marginalized groups differently?
  • How can the private sector’s innovation be bridged with public safeguards, ensuring gender perspectives are integrated into governance?
  • What role should women in civil society, policymaking, and business play in building responsible and inclusive technology for the region?

Key takeaways from the discussion included:

  • AI as amplifier of values: Technology itself is neither inherently good nor bad—it reflects the values of its creators and users. Women’s leadership brings empathy, ethical standards, and resilience into tech governance.
  • Resilience starts with people: Beyond infrastructure and data, resilience depends on individuals—resilient users and resilient minds able to critically and authentically engage with AI.
  • Balancing opportunity and risk: While AI creates efficiency and flexibility in everyday and professional life, it also introduces new vulnerabilities—from children’s digital safety to deepfakes and disinformation in elections.
  • Public–private partnerships matter: Strong collaboration is needed between governments, businesses, and academia to build safeguards, increase digital literacy, and reduce inequalities.
  • Ethics and humanity first: AI should remain a tool that supports human creativity and relationships, not a substitute for them. Safeguarding human values is essential to ensure that technology strengthens, rather than undermines, democracy.

The session concluded with a shared call to stay human: focus on resilience at the individual and societal level, promote AI literacy and ethical governance, and ensure women’s voices are central in shaping technology for the future.