Founders Dubai: who is accountable when AI decides?

The event

In autumn 2026, Paris Norriss joined Founders Dubai in Dubai as host of a fireside chat on AI’s role in financial institutions, including hedge funds and family offices. This was a hosting role rather than a keynote: Paris led the conversation.

What the conversation covered

The starting point was a simple but uncomfortable question: if AI makes a decision nobody in your company can explain, who is really in control?

AI is already developing key technologies, and it may not be long before AI is developing AI. One question stayed with Paris: as we give AI more responsibility, which responsibilities must remain human? The risk is that we become so dependent on these systems that, when something goes wrong, we no longer have the knowledge to understand the problem or fix it ourselves.

Before automating a function, he suggested, organisations need to ask:

• Can a person still explain the decision?
• Can we intervene when something goes wrong?
• Who is accountable for the consequences?

Human oversight needs to mean more than someone clicking “approve”. It needs understanding, moral judgement and the ability to challenge the system. AI can help write policies, but deciding where human responsibility belongs is a judgement we have to make ourselves. “That takes common sense. The question is: how common is it?”

Hosting and moderating

As the presenter of Guy in Dubai and Guy in the Sky, Paris is at home on stage and on camera, and regularly hosts panels, fireside chats and awards alongside his keynote work.

About The Grit Code keynote

The Grit Code is built on real stories from extreme environments. Paris rowed 4,800km across the Pacific Ocean in 2023 with the Brothers N Oars crew, a row that raised more than £150,000 for marine conservation. He also ran seven marathons on seven continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes, in Antarctica, Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid, Fortaleza and Miami.

From those experiences he draws practical lessons on purpose, vision, limiting beliefs, adapting a plan and keeping a clear head under pressure. He has delivered the keynote for audiences including the UN Tourism General Assembly, TEDx Amman, COP28, Expo 2020, DHL, Nokia, Kraft Heinz, IHG, Dubai Airports, Durlston Partners in London and Surfbreak in Honolulu. Every talk starts with a briefing call, so the stories connect to your theme, your industry and the challenges your people are facing right now.

“Human oversight needs to mean more than someone clicking “approve”.”
— Paris Norriss on LinkedIn

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Want Paris for your own conference or leadership event? Read more about The Grit Code, see more past speaking events or send an enquiry. Planning an event in the region? See Paris as a keynote speaker in the UAE.