{"id":14232,"date":"2025-12-07T13:47:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T12:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/inovato-2025-annual-meeting-people-are-the-essence-ai-is-just-a-tool\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T13:47:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T12:47:48","slug":"inovato-2025-annual-meeting-people-are-the-essence-ai-is-just-a-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/inovato-2025-annual-meeting-people-are-the-essence-ai-is-just-a-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"INOVATO 2025 Annual Meeting: People are the essence, AI is just a tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

17 of us attended from a total of 70 member organizations. While this wasn’t the simple majority required for a quorum at the general assembly, that wasn’t the main point of the day. It was a meeting where we openly discussed our current situation, what lies ahead, and most importantly \u2013 how we will tackle it together. <\/span><\/p>\n

INOVATO 2025: Projects, New Partnerships, and a Successful INOFEST <\/strong><\/h2>\n

After morning coffee and welcome remarks, Anna \u010caplovi\u010dov\u00e1 presented the year’s review. And I must say \u2013 we’ve made progress. We organized the 6th annual <\/span>INOFEST 2025<\/b> in Trnava at MTF. We were part of <\/span>V\u00fd\u0165ah.Conf 2025<\/b> and <\/span>Slovak Industry Vision Day<\/b> as partners. Workshops on AI, SEO, Ba\u0165a Principles. Webinars on innovation funding, supercomputers, product profitability. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our cooperation with SIEA led us all the way to <\/span>Korea<\/b>. We completed the project <\/span>Space for V4<\/b>, which mapped the space ecosystem of V4 countries \u2013 the output is a joint publication with best practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Anna also introduced <\/span>BRIDGE & SHIFT (2026-2027)<\/b>, which is already preparing for the transformation of automotive regions, including the Nitra region. Value chain analyses, identification of missing links, regional strategies, preparation of projects for EU funding.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

We also received the <\/span>ESCA Silver Label<\/b> valid until 2027 \u2013 it’s not just a pretty sticker. It’s confirmation that the quality of our management is at a European level. That what we do makes sense and we do it well. <\/span><\/p>\n

Matej Novotn\u00fd presented the concept of INOVATO expert groups, and Nat\u00e1lia Sta\u0161\u00edkov\u00e1 showed us how we’re performing in social media communication.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

What’s next?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

2026 will be about the project <\/span>BRIDGE & SHIFT<\/b>, finalizing expert groups, updating the strategy with measurable indicators. Regular webinars, <\/span>INOFEST 2026<\/b>, at least two annual meetings, and a weekend under the banner of <\/span>“Summer with INOVATO”<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video is King (but only with authenticity)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Martin Monco\u013e from Press Play Media Makers presented facts that cannot be ignored. ChatGPT grew from 300 million weekly users to 800 million. Up to 2.5 billion queries are processed there daily. <\/span><\/p>\n

And what does that mean for us? People no longer click on websites. They get the answer directly from AI, and that’s it. <\/span>Zero-click phenomenon<\/b> \u2013 fewer visitors, but those who come are of higher quality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video statistics are remarkable: from video ads, we remember <\/span>95% of information<\/b>, from static only 10%. Video has a click-through rate (CTR) between 1.5\u20133%, static ads only 0.5\u20131.4%. The numbers speak for themselves. <\/span><\/p>\n

But beware \u2013 the audience can now distinguish fake content from genuine. Authentic content builds trust. And a hybrid strategy? <\/span>\u201cVideo Hook, Static Close”<\/b> \u2013 first video for engagement, then a static ad with a specific offer. Meta reports a 17% higher conversion rate. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

AI and the Unpleasant Truth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The afternoon belonged to Vladim\u00edr \u0160ucha from the European University Institute. And if you were expecting an optimistic motivational speech, you didn’t get one. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u0160ucha put it bluntly: AI is a historically unique technology. It doesn’t enhance our hands or feet. It changes our very way of thinking. And that’s a fundamental difference. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

An MIT study showed that using ChatGPT reduces cognitive abilities, memory, and critical thinking. Gradual atrophy. Like environmental toxins \u2013 it acts slowly, often below our conscious awareness. <\/span><\/p>\n

Statistics on young people are alarming: loneliness increased from 9% in 2016 to 36% in 2020.<\/strong> Depression, self-harm. And the AI boom hasn’t even fully begun yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

The World Economic Forum predicts that 39% of skills will change. Today’s young people will go through 5\u20137 career changes. Reskilling every 2\u20133 years. This isn’t the future \u2013 this is already happening. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

People, Not Tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What struck us most about \u0160ucha’s lecture? A quote from Tom\u00e1\u0161 Ba\u0165a from the 1920s: <\/span>\u201cPeople build businesses, not tools.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

BCG found that only 5% of companies clearly benefit from AI. 60% are just experimenting. The problem isn’t the tools. The problem is us \u2013 people, culture, the way we work. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The success of transformation depends two-thirds on people and culture, and only one-third on technology. Psychological safety, empathy, a moral compass \u2013 a leader won’t leave these to AI. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u0160ucha urged us to act: conduct a mental resilience audit, start a small AI experiment, set new metrics \u2013 learning speed, quality of cooperation, team well-being. The window of opportunity is narrow \u2013 3 years. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Final Thought<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The conclusion revolved around three questions presented by Martina Jankolov\u00e1 and J\u00e1n Ko\u0161turiak. What is changing that we cannot ignore? What is not changing that we must return to? How to create an ecosystem for survival? <\/span><\/p>\n

The answers varied, but one theme ran through the entire day: <\/span>technology is just a tool, people are the essence<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

AI will come, changes will come. But if we have strong relationships, authentic communication, psychological safety, and mental resilience \u2013 we will survive. And not only that, we will thrive. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you to everyone who participated. We look forward to 2026! <\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

TEXT: Nat\u00e1lia Sta\u0161\u00edkov\u00e1
\nPHOTO: INOVATO\/Nat\u00e1lia Sta\u0161\u00edkov\u00e1, Press Play \/ Patrik Horn\u00edk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

17 of us attended from a total of 70 member organizations. While this wasn’t the simple majority required for a quorum at the general assembly, that wasn’t the main point of the day. It was a meeting where we openly discussed our current situation, what lies ahead, and most importantly \u2013 how we will tackle it together. INOVATO 2025: Projects, New Partnerships, and a Successful INOFEST After morning coffee and welcome remarks, Anna \u010caplovi\u010dov\u00e1 presented the year’s review. And I must say \u2013 we’ve made progress. We organized the 6th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":14230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stg.inova.to\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}