Cutting Through the Noise: Reflections on Dublin Tech Summit 2025

Tech events can be a mixed bag. I’ve been to enough to know the difference between meaningful conversations and a glorified business card exchange. Some events are just echo chambers of sellers pitching to other sellers; no learning, no relationships, just a race to scan the most badges.

But Dublin Tech Summit? That was different.

This year, my team and I spoke with hundreds of people, real conversations with founders, marketers, engineers, investors, and AI enthusiasts alike. We generated over 200 leads, and our sales team hasn’t stopped booking demos since. It’s been a whirlwind of the best kind.

What struck me most about DTS wasn’t just the volume of interest; it was the quality of the connections. These events matter because they put you face-to-face with people you don’t usually meet: early adopters, cautious explorers, curious competitors, and industry outsiders who ask the kinds of questions that challenge your thinking.

One of my personal highlights? Sitting down with Alastair Campbell — political strategist, author, and someone who knows more than most about navigating complex systems and impossible-seeming decisions.

He said something that’s stuck with me since:

“The signal is more important than the noise.”

And he’s right. In the world of tech, especially AI, the noise is deafening. Every day there’s a new tool, a new framework, a new ‘game-changer.’ But how much of it really matters?

At Hurree, we’re not here to add to the noise. We’re here to amplify the signal, helping businesses understand what’s actually working, where the opportunities are, and how to focus on what moves the needle. That only happens when you meet people where they are, listen to what they need, and build from there.

Strategy > tactics

Alastair also made a sharp point that I think many in our industry need to hear: too many people respond to uncertainty with tactics. But tactics without strategy are just activity. Motion without direction.

Cutting through the noise takes strategy, real, human-centred thinking. That’s true in politics, in business, and especially when you're building something new in AI.

From ceasefires to startups

Coming from Northern Ireland, I was genuinely moved to hear Alastair talk about the people behind the Good Friday Agreement. Without that moment in history, companies like Hurree wouldn’t exist. It was a reminder that the who matters just as much as the what. Whether you’re negotiating peace or building a product, it’s the people around you that make all the difference.

AI, ethics, and the role of education

Of course, AI was the topic on everyone’s lips at DTS and rightly so. Regulation came up (as it should), but the most powerful idea that emerged was this: we cannot outsource ethics. As Alastair put it, the fight against unethical AI starts with personal education.

If we want AI to evolve in a way that helps rather than harms, we need a generation that is media-literate, critically minded, and unafraid to challenge what doesn’t feel right. Regulation will come eventually, but in the meantime, we’ve got to hold the line ourselves.

People first, always

Sarah Friar, the CFO of OpenAI, nailed it during her keynote discussion: AI is transforming how companies are built. Smaller teams are becoming significantly more capable thanks to the right tools. But — and this is crucial — AI is not a substitute for great people.

My own keynote touched on this, and I’m in complete agreement with Sarah: if your team isn’t strong, AI won’t save you. It might make you faster, but it won’t make you smarter. People are the foundation. AI is the scaffolding.

That message really resonated with the people I spoke to at DTS. They weren’t there to replace their teams, they were looking for ways to support them. And when they saw what Hurree could do — what it’s doing already and what’s just around the corner — they didn’t ask, “Will this replace us?” They asked, “How can this make us better?”

The future is agentic. And human.

That, to me, is the future of agentic AI: not replacing people, but enabling them. Not automating for the sake of it, but empowering teams to focus on what truly matters.

DTS 2025 made one thing very clear: AI is here to stay. Yes, there’s uncertainty. Yes, there’s fear. But there’s also hope, the kind that comes when you show people that AI doesn’t have to be cold, mechanical, or dehumanising.

Because the only future worth building is one where technology enhances the human element, not erases it.

And that’s exactly what we’re building at Hurree.