AI for Meaningful Impact. Critical Thinking. Positive Change

Esade joins 4YFN with a lineup centered on the real impact of AI, responsible leadership, and social progress. At the intersection of technology, business, and humanism, these sessions tackle how to place AI at the service of society and the common good.

15:05 – 15:30 | Keynote

Leading for Meaningful Impact in the next economy

The technological revolution is no longer just about efficiency or speed, it is about purpose. In a world where AI reshapes entire industries and redefines the value of human work, organizations face a new responsibility: to generate impact that truly matters. What does leadership mean when innovation is exponential and inequalities can be as well?

Daniel Traça, director general, Esade

15:30 – 16:00 | Fireside Chat

What the Planet (and VCs) need from Future Leaders

How can we build technology-driven companies that are purposeful, investable, measurable, and scalable? How do we educate leaders who can combine technology, business, and real social change? What funding models are shaping impact entrepreneurship today and what are impact investors really looking for? In this conversation, Lisa Hehenberger, Dean of Esade Business School, together with a leader from higher education or the entrepreneurial/VC ecosystem, discusses how talent capable of turning technology into meaningful social solutions is identified, supported, and financed.

Lisa Hehenberger, dean at Esade Business School

16:05– 16:45 | Panel Discussion

Who’s really in charge? Reclaiming Human Autonomy in the Age of AI Agents

By 2026, so-called “AI agents” are embedded in many professional activities: managing processes, proposing decisions, and executing tasks with minimal human intervention. While their adoption promises efficiency, it raises a deeper challenge—how to preserve human capacity to guide, interpret, and take responsibility for meaningful decisions. This panel examines what happens when people move from doing to supervising, often without sufficient information, time, or conditions to exercise true oversight. We will explore shifting accountability dynamics, emerging dependencies, and the implications of working in environments where system recommendations tend to be accepted by default. The discussion will also address how to design governance practices that allow humans to retain judgment and agency, rather than merely validating decisions that arrive already “predefined”.

Irene Unceta, Associate Professor at Department of DATA (Data, Analytics, Technology and AI) at Esade

16:50– 17:30 | Panel Discussion

AI for Marketers: Can an Algorithm “Move” your Customers?

AI has mastered logic, speed, and efficiency. But in the battle for consumer attention, IQ has become a commodity—the new competitive advantage is emotional intelligence. Are we approaching an AI capable of genuinely moving, seducing, and emotionally connecting with people? Or are we headed toward a future of cold, perfectly optimized—and perfectly boring—interactions?

Ana Valenzuela, Professor of Marketing at Esade

17:35 – 18:15 | Panel Discussion

Digital Trends 2026: What Investors Will Bet On Next

The digital ecosystem is entering a new cycle marked by the convergence of AI, 5G/6G, satellites, edge computing, IoT, quantum technologies, and sustainability. The year 2026 will be decisive in determining which business models attract investment and which technologies drive the next wave of growth.

Davide Rovera, Manager Esade Entrepreneurship Institute (EEI) 

18:20 – 19:00 | Fireside Chat

From Engagement to Belonging: Rethinking Algorithms for a ProSocial Digital Future

What digital future are we building for the generations growing up in the constant company of artificial intelligence? In a context where algorithms do more than just organize content—they influence how a generation learns, connects, thinks, and shapes its identity—this conversation proposes a radically different approach to rethinking digital technology. Liliana Arroyo, Director of the Chair for Socially Responsible Digital Innovation and Professor at Esade, sits down with ethical designer and researcher Alison Lee, Chief R&D Officer at The Rithm Project, and Marisol Jimenez, Research Fellow at the same project. They will discuss how to design technologies that truly foster human relationships, sustainable digital wellbeing, and personal agency. Grounded in the principles of prosocial AI—which prioritizes genuine human connection over algorithmic addiction—they will explore how the devices and platforms that dominate our digital world can be redirected toward spaces that nurture connection, purpose, and shared wellbeing.

Liliana Arroyo, Director of the Chair for Socially Responsible Digital Innovation and Professor at Esade

Alison Lee, Chief R&D Officer of The Rithm Project

Marisol Jiménez, researcher at The Rithm Project