September 2026
Networking Event featuring talks on
Talks: AI and your Business – What you need to know about effective use, safety and legal considerations
Followed by Networking and Display Tables (5 members)
Speakers:
Time and Date: Wednesday 16th September 2026 18.00-20.30 (registration from 17.45)
Venue: Radisson Blu Royal, Golden Ln, Dublin 8, D08 VRR7
Many business owners are now regularly using Generative AI in their businesses to improve processes, reduce costs and/or improve their product or service offering. At the same time, AI is reshaping the wider digital environment in which small businesses operate — creating new opportunities, but also making online scams, impersonation, social engineering and other risks increasingly sophisticated. In this rapidly changing area, business owners need to understand both how to benefit from new technology and how to protect their business, customers, digital identity and reputation. At September’s event, three experts will explore complementary perspectives on working and doing business safely and effectively in the age of AI — from practical adoption, to online safety and digital trust, to wider legal and intellectual-property considerations.
The Alignment Pyramid: How to Make AI Work for Your Business (At Your Pace)
Speaker: Sofia Silva
With constant noise around artificial intelligence, many small business owners feel pressured to adopt shiny new tools, only to end up with generic, robotic outputs that don't sound like their brand. In this practical 15–20 minute talk, Sofia will cut through the tech hype and introduce a simple framework designed to help female founders integrate AI intentionally. Drawing from her experience leading process optimization in corporate environments, she’ll share why AI tools fail when bolted onto broken workflows, and how focusing on "Process First, Tool Second" allows you to build an AI "intern" that respects your unique voice, your values, and your time.
Key Takeaways:
- How to identify the high-friction admin workflows holding your business back
- Practical strategies to protect your authentic brand voice when using AI
- A 3-step checklist for safe, calm, and effective AI adoption
They Don’t Need to Hack Your Business. They Just Need You to Trust Them.
Speaker: Belén Delgado, Online Safety and Digital Trust leader
AI is creating exciting opportunities for small businesses, but it is also making scams, impersonation and social engineering increasingly sophisticated and convincing. Drawing on her experience in Trust & Safety, fraud and online risk, Belén will use real examples and relatable scenarios to explore how these threats can affect entrepreneurs in their day-to-day business. The main message Belen would like people to leave with is that online safety isn’t only about technology — it’s also about protecting the trust and reputation they’ve worked hard to build.
"Alice in an AI Wonderland: navigating the risks, getting great results".
Speaker: Mary White, Mason Hayes Curran
Mary will share insights into some of the wider legal and intellectual-property considerations associated with the use of AI.
The talk will be followed by networking over wine/soft drinks.
You can book your place through this link: https://forms.gle/X1KCfBmA4XGZVeTT9
SPEAKER PROFILES:
Sofia Silva, Aligned Innovation
Sofia Silva has spent 10+ years inside some of the world's most complex tech operations at Meta, Airbnb and PayPal, designing, managing and improving operational processes.
Sofia's sweet spot sits where operations, efficiency and human behaviour meet. She designs and implements efficient workflows that reduce manual effort and drive real adoption; not just on paper, but in how teams actually work day to day, for example, reducing weekly operational effort from 350–690 min down to 80–90 min through workflow automation.
She's now channelling that experience into Aligned Innovation, the AI training and consulting business she's co-founding to help small business owners and solopreneurs adopt AI without the overwhelm. Always happy to connect with others thinking about the same things. See https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofiamsilva/
Belén Delgado, Online Safety and Digital Trust leader
Belén Delgado is an Online Safety and Digital Trust leader with over 15 years of international experience across eBay, LinkedIn, Meta and Accenture, spanning fraud investigations, Trust & Safety, online risk and operational readiness. Throughout her career, she has also worked with law enforcement agencies across multiple countries on online safety, fraud and high-risk cases, leading international law-enforcement response operations. She has delivered workshops for entrepreneurs and professionals, translating complex digital risks into practical advice. Belén is passionate about helping small businesses protect their digital identity, reputation and customer trust as AI makes online scams and impersonation increasingly sophisticated. Curious? Check out her web here
Speaker: Mary White
Mary White is an Irish and EU trade mark agent known for her asset expertise and commercial focush. She has worked in top-tier law firms such as Mason Hayes and Curran, UK brand protection specialist Stobbs, and leading Scottish IP firm Murgitroyd. She is an active member of the SME Link and Publications Committees for European Communities Trademark Association (ECTA) and acts as a Main Auditor for Absolute Grounds in the EUIPO’s Stakeholder Quality Assurance Panels.
Mary sits as an IP expert on the Innovation Management Technical Committee at the National Standards Authority of Ireland and has contributed to the development of the ISO560XX family of standards. She also guest lectures for many academic institutions and incubators including Portal at Tangent, Trinity College Dublin’s Ideas Workspace, the Rubicon Centre, and NDRC and has been an invited speaker on various IP related matters both nationally and across the EU. https://www.mhc.ie/
