La Salle-URL, KPMG and CaixaBank reflect on AI governance and ethical challenges

Wednesday, Septembre 30, 2026. La Salle-URL, together with CaixaBank and KPMG, brought together representatives from the business, social and academic sectors to reflect on the evolution of AI and the ethical, regulatory, business and risk-management challenges arising from its development. The event reinforces La Salle-URL’s role as a space for knowledge and dialogue around a technology that is transforming organisations and society.

In their opening remarks, Josep M. Santos, General Director of La Salle-URL; Maria Alsina, CaixaBank's Territorial Director in Barcelona; and Pedro León y Francia, Director of the KPMG Foundation in Spain, all highlighted the importance of creating spaces for shared reflection on the development of AI and the value of connecting universities, businesses and society to address its challenges, share knowledge and combine capabilities to generate impact.

Two talks to understand the current state of AI

The two keynote talks that followed explored the current state of AI and the governance of its risks. Josep Maria Ribes, Director of La Salle-URL’s AI Observatory, delivered the talk ‘AI, September 2026: Where Are We and What Comes Next?’, in which he analysed the evolution of the technology based on the Observatory’s study of emerging trends. Ribes addressed issues including the evolution of models and agents, as well as advances in mobility and robotics, while stressing the need “not to turn our backs on AI, but to understand it and actively address the challenges it poses”.

Iván Muñoz, Senior Manager, Technology Risk and Cybersecurity at KPMG, then presented ‘How to Govern AI Risks Without Slowing Down Adoption’, focusing on responsibilities, governance mechanisms and the management of risks associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence within organisations. Muñoz emphasised the need to accompany AI adoption with clear and responsible governance frameworks.

A transdisciplinary perspective on the challenges of AI

The final part of the event featured a round table that explored, from a transdisciplinary perspective, the intersection of ethics, regulation and business in the global technological context. The panellists were Cristian Cantón, Associate Director at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center; Marc Simon, Deputy General Manager of the La Caixa Foundation; and Dr Ricardo Mejía Fernández, Professor at the La Salle-URL Faculty of Philosophy.The discussion was moderated by Pedro León y Francia.

The event concluded at the Interactive Arts & Science Laboratory (IASlab), the campus laboratory dedicated to transdisciplinary research and artistic creation. Attendees visited the immersive digital creation room, one of the spaces where the campus explores the intersection between technology and creativity through digital art, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality.

The event exemplifies how La Salle-URL approaches artificial intelligence through knowledge, research and dialogue with the business and social environment, bringing technological, humanistic and business perspectives to a conversation that increasingly requires multiple points of view.