{"id":11591,"date":"2026-06-18T22:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=11591"},"modified":"2026-06-18T22:22:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T19:22:00","slug":"stavros-kalafatis-artificial-intelligence-is-radically-transforming-the-economy-the-new-landscape-for-business-and-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=11591","title":{"rendered":"Stavros Kalafatis: \u201cArtificial Intelligence Is Radically Transforming the Economy\u201d \u2013 The New Landscape for Business and Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Artificial Intelligence is radically transforming economy<\/b> and is creating <b>a new landscape for businesses, growth<\/b> and digital <b>transformation<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>The <b>discussion surrounding digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/b> in Greece <b>is gaining increasing prominence in business and political discourse<\/b>, with <b>the Deputy Minister of Development and Minister responsible for Research and Innovation Stavros Kalafatis<\/b> highlighting <b>the role of AI as a catalyst for a new industrial era<\/b> that is <b>radically transforming the economy, strengthening the competitiveness of businesses<\/b> and accelerates <b>growth, as part of a seminar organized by the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce<\/b> on <b>business transformation and new opportunities for innovation in Greece<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><b>Artificial Intelligence is now at the heart of business transformation<\/b>, creating <b>new opportunities for automation<\/b>, process optimization, <b>boosting productivity, and developing innovative solutions<\/b>, according to the <b>key conclusion of today\u2019s evening event hosted by the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce<\/b> on the topic \u201cBusiness Transformation Stories v.5 | <b>Digital Transformation with the Help of Artificial Intelligence,\u201d at the Small Stock Exchange<\/b>.<\/p>\n<h3>New Industrial Revolution<\/h3>\n<p>According to the chamber\u2019s social media posts, the Deputy Minister of Development responsible for Research and Innovation, Stavros Kalafatis, emphasized that \u201cArtificial Intelligence represents a new industrial revolution\u2014perhaps even more impactful than those that came before. The changes it brings are profound, rapid, and affect every sector of the economy and society. This is why constant vigilance, adaptability, and a willingness to learn continuously are required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event was opened by the Head of Innovative Entrepreneurship Development at NBG Business Seeds of the National Bank of Greece, Dr. Spyros Arsenis, and the General Director of the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce, Ilias Spyrtounias, who highlighted the importance of Artificial Intelligence as a driver of innovation, growth, and business transformation.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening remarks, the president of the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce, Ioannis Sarakakis, stated that \u201cArtificial Intelligence is not just a matter of technology. It is a matter of strategy, leadership, education, and collaboration. That is where Greece\u2019s competitiveness will be determined in the coming years.\u201d For his part, Vasilis Karkatzounis, Special Secretary for Artificial Intelligence and Data Governance, noted that \u201cin the world of Artificial Intelligence, competitiveness will be determined not only by the rules we set, but also by the speed with which we act and enable businesses to innovate and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The discussion<\/h3>\n<p>In the discussion titled \u201cTransforming the Workplace with AI,\u201d EY Greece Partner and Head of Human Capital Advisory Services, Eftychia Kaselaki, emphasized that \u201cthe greatest challenge of Artificial Intelligence is the scale and speed of change,\u201d noting that this new reality requires adaptation not only from employees but also from senior business executives.<\/p>\n<p>The CEO and President of AbbVie Greece, Cyprus, and Malta, Labrina Barbetaki, stated that in the healthcare sector, \u201cArtificial Intelligence does not merely promise greater efficiency or faster processes. It has the potential to accelerate research, improve patient care, and, ultimately, improve and save human lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dimitris Gerogiannis, co-founder and co-CEO of Humanbound, noted that \u201cthe real challenge is to maintain our own critical thinking, our ability to evaluate, and our human judgment,\u201d despite the ease with which technology facilitates decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>Elena Barla, CEO and co-founder of Future brAIn, emphasized that \u201cone of the biggest obstacles to digital transformation is not technology. It is the lack of trust and overly hierarchical structures that slow down decision-making,\u201d adding that the issue is primarily a matter of culture.<\/p>\n<p>In the session \u201cTransforming Business with AI,\u201d Dr. Spyros Arsenis noted that banks have been utilizing artificial intelligence technologies for about 15 years, noting that the technology has proven particularly effective in processing large volumes of information and synthesizing data to support decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>Fotis Panagiotopoulos, Head of Strategy &amp; Consulting at Accenture, argued that \u201cthe use of AI is no longer simply an option or a competitive advantage, but increasingly a business necessity for those who want to meet market demands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Intale\u2019s CEO, Grigoris Gousis, highlighted training and rapid adaptation to technological developments as key challenges, while the CEO of Voice Logica AI, Apostolos Ioakeim, emphasized that \u201ctrue transformation is not just about technology. It\u2019s about culture, processes, and ways of thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the chamber\u2019s posts, participants agreed that leveraging artificial intelligence, developing new skills, and strengthening synergies between businesses and startups are creating new opportunities for the Greek business ecosystem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Artificial Intelligence is radically transforming the economy and creating a new landscape for business, growth, and digital transformation. The discussion surrounding &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}