Building Safe Connections: AI Companions and Responsible Design

AI companions are reshaping how humans connect with technology, as users (including children) increasingly turn to these systems for social connection, emotional support, and even romance. While potentially addressing issues such as loneliness, accessibility, and mental health, these technologies also raise concerns about over-reliance, data privacy, and emotional manipulation. This panel will explore the current and future landscape of AI companions, highlighting innovations, market trends, and policy issues surrounding safety, privacy, and trust. Join us for a panel discussion on the AI companion landscape, exploring innovations, safety, and ethical considerations. Join us for a panel discussion on the AI companion landscape, exploring innovations, safety, and ethical considerations.

This event is organized by the and the , in collaboration with . Visit our website: www.euinaustin.org.

Monday, March 10, 2025

• 11:15am: Doors open
• 11:30am - 12:30pm: Panel discussion with Camille Carlton (Camille Carlton, Policy Director, Center for Humane Technology) and Carlos Canva (Founder, MidBrain), Dr. Susan Leavy (Assistant Professor, School of Information and Communication, University College Dublin), moderated by Giulia Geneletti (Policy Officer, EU Office in San Francisco)

Speakers:

Camille Carlton, Policy Director, Center for Humane Technology

Camille is the Policy Director at the Center for Humane Technology, where she leads the organization's policy strategy to ensure technology serves the public interest.

Camille brings a unique cross-disciplinary perspective, having worked both in industry—fintech and healthtech—and in academia, where she explored platform power, accountability, and governance at UC Berkeley. This blend of hands-on experience and analytical research enables her to navigate complex, interconnected challenges with a holistic approach.

Carlos Calva, Founder, MidBrain

Carlos Calva is the founder of Midbrain, a company working to build new nature inspired foundation models for next generation adaptable AI. His fascination for understanding the deep relationship between human emotions, cognition and memory and its applicability in technology have led him to explore the intersection of spatial computing and AI for close to a decade. From astronaut training tools, pilot training simulations, to biometric sentiment analysis for music production and video game design Carlos has collaborated with some of the most prominent institutions and organizations helping him develop a unique view of the mechanisms behind human intelligence and the gaps that exist with current state-of-the-art machine learning.

Dr. Susan Leavy, Assistant Professor, School of Information and Communication, University College Dublin

Susan Leavy is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information and Communication at University College Dublin with research projects in Artificial Intelligence, AI Ethics, and Tech Policy. Through roles in AI ethics and policy, Susan works to bridge academic research with AI governance initiatives. Her academic background spans philosophy, social science, and AI and before moving to academia, she spent a decade in financial technology managing the development of trading platforms for investment banking. Susan is affiliated with the Insight Centre for Data Analytics and serves on the advisory board of the Centre for Digital Policy at UCD. She is one of Ireland’s nominees to the OECD Global Partnership on AI (OECD-GPAI) where she co-leads its social media governance project within the responsible AI working group. Susan represented Ireland in a working group on the AI Act chaired by the EU AI Office an is also currently a member of AI Advisory Council of the Irish government.

Giulia Geneletti, Policy Officer, European Union Office in San Francisco (MODERATOR)

Since March 2024, Giulia has been serving as a Policy Officer at the European Commission and the European Union Office in San Francisco, focusing on the EU Digital Services Act and specializing in platform governance and AI regulation. Before joining the European Commission, Giulia gained professional experience working with the Public Affairs team of Google Italy, with a Digital Policy Consulting Agency in Rome and with the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL). She also conducted research on tech-policy related issues with the Sciences Po Center Chair for Digital, Governance and Sovereignty.

Disclaimer:
Registration for the events does not guarantee participation. Due to high demand and limited capacity, we strongly recommend arriving early. SXSW badge holders are granted primary access.

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Host or Publisher European Union Delegation to the United States