FLIRT 2026 - Future Leaders in Responsible Technology
About this Event
Something is happening to your industry. The question is whether you’re shaping it or watching it happen to you.
FLIRT. Future Leaders in Responsible Technology.
Brighton. 2–3 November 2026.
Two days of ideas, hands-on workshops, frontier technology and conversations worth having. A festival-conference taking over venues across Brighton, bringing together the people building, funding, using and challenging the technologies changing our lives.
AI is reshaping how we work, create and do business. Robotics and automation are changing what becomes possible. The opportunities are enormous. So are the decisions in front of us.
What should we build? Where should we invest? How do we put these technologies to work, prepare our people and make sure the benefits reach further?
FLIRT brings those questions into the same room. Then gives you the chance to do something with the answers.
The AIMI Conference comes to FLIRT
The AIMI Conference returns as part of FLIRT, with a dedicated programme exploring AI across media and the creative industries.
Presented by the AI in Media Institute, it brings together the people making films, building brands, producing music, publishing stories and developing the tools changing creative work.
From new creative possibilities to questions of ownership, trust and livelihoods, this is where the industry gets into the detail. Expect live demonstrations, practical workshops and honest conversations about what is working, what needs challenging and what comes next.
The community that started at AIMI now meets a wider world of founders, technologists, investors and decision-makers across FLIRT.
What happens at FLIRT
Big ideas on stage. New skills in workshops. Prototypes you can try. People you might build something with.
The Main Stage brings together ambitious ideas and competing perspectives on technology, business and society. Founders, investors, researchers and industry leaders explore what is coming, what deserves backing and what it takes to build companies that last.
The Future Stage tackles the changing world of work. How organisations put technology into practice. How teams adapt. Which skills matter next. And how people find opportunity as familiar roles and industries change.
The Startup Village puts emerging technology businesses in front of potential investors, customers and collaborators, with live pitches, product demonstrations and opportunities to meet the people behind the companies.
Across Brighton, specialist programmes and satellite venues explore everything from storytelling, music and immersive worlds to infrastructure, automation, governance and access.
Get close to frontier technology through live demonstrations, from robotics to real-time generative AI. Ask difficult questions. Test what it can actually do.
No spectators.
FLIRT is built for participation.
Join hands-on workshops. Try unfamiliar tools. Build something with people you have just met. Develop skills you can take back to your team, your business or your next project.
Bring a problem you haven’t solved. A question you can’t shake. An idea that isn’t finished.
You should leave with more than notes.
And then there’s Brighton.
Between sessions, the city becomes part of the programme. Meetups, immersive experiences and conversations that carry on between venues.
When the stages finish, FLIRT After-hours begins, with music, gatherings and more chances to connect across the city.
Make time for the people you didn’t come with.
Who is it for?
People building what comes next. People deciding what to back. People figuring out what it means for their work.
Founders and leadership teams. Startups and scaleups. VCs, angels and family offices. Creatives, artists and media professionals. Engineers, product teams and researchers.
The people responsible for operations, finance, legal, governance, hiring and training. Policymakers and educators. Students and emerging talent looking for a way in.
Come to find collaborators, discover companies, learn practical skills or work through a difficult decision. Be ready to contribute.
Built on AIMI. Opening up to more.
The sold-out AIMI Conference brought together 600+ attendees and 40 speakers across two stages in 2025.
FLIRT builds on that momentum, with the AIMI Conference continuing inside a wider festival connecting technology, creativity, business and society.
The future is not a keynote.
Be part of it.
2–3 November 2026. Brighton.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 50.00 to GBP 295.00
