On March 26th, 2026, I joined the 17th edition of 2DAY AMBASSADOR — the international Laude-Reut conference on diplomacy and global affairs — as a panelist on the session dedicated to the impact of artificial intelligence on the next generation.
Organized by Complexul Educațional Laude-Reut, this year's edition gathered over 350 middle and high school students from 28 institutions across Romania, alongside ambassadors, senior officials, members of the Romanian Government and Parliament, and representatives from business, academia, and technology. The theme — the intersection of diplomacy, technology, and artificial intelligence — set the tone for the entire day.
The conference opened on a fittingly symbolic note: a humanoid robot — provided through the strategic educational partnership with POLITEHNICA Bucharest — greeted attendees, signaling exactly the subject the day would explore. A world where technology becomes a natural partner of human interaction, not a substitute for it.
Diplomacy, in a world being rewritten by AI
The opening session brought together Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, founder and president of Laude-Reut; H.E. Luminița Odobescu, State Counsellor in the Prime Minister's Chancellery and former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Clara Staicu, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Senator Ștefan Pălărie, chair of the Senate Education Committee; H.E. Dr. Lior Ben Dor, Ambassador of Israel to Romania; H.E. Simona Miculescu, Permanent Delegate of Romania to UNESCO; and H.E. Emil Hurezeanu, journalist, writer, diplomat, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The flagship diplomatic panel — "The Future of Diplomacy: Power, Trust and Technology in a Changing World" — added the perspectives of ambassadors and diplomatic leaders from Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Switzerland, Argentina, Germany, and France, alongside former Romanian foreign ministers Lazăr Comănescu and Adrian Cioroianu. The conversation kept returning to the same hard question: how do you keep trust between states when the digital tools shaping diplomacy evolve faster than the institutions trying to govern them?
My panel: AI and the formation of new generations
I joined the panel dedicated to the impact of artificial intelligence on education and the future of work, alongside:
- Gabriel Petrea – Deputy General Director, POLITEHNICA Bucharest
- Ing. Ștefan Ursache – Head of Structures Department, 2Space, POLITEHNICA Bucharest
- Andrei Nica – NextLab.tech
- Emanuel Știuler – Mathematics teacher, Complexul Educațional Laude-Reut
Talking to a room full of teenagers about AI is different from talking to executives or developers. They have already used these tools — for homework, for art, for arguments with their friends. The question is not whether AI will be in their lives; it is whether they will shape it or be shaped by it. We focused on what the panel kept circling back to: interdisciplinary skills, critical thinking, and the discipline to integrate technology responsibly rather than enthusiastically.
"Don't compete with AI on what it does well. Get good at the things only a human can frame — the question, the judgment, and the responsibility for the answer."
Other voices on the stage
Earlier in the day, Elisabeta Moraru (Country Director, Google Romania) and Sorin Sfetcu (Industry Manager, Google Romania) led a session on how AI is reshaping the way young people learn — opportunities, responsibilities, and the very real questions emerging both online and offline. Sergiu Manea, CEO of BCR, spoke on leadership and economic power in a globalized world. Journalist Ion M. Ioniță and Lect. Univ. Dr. Christian Năsulea (UNIBUC) explored education and the future of work in dialogue.
The students themselves were the spine of the event. They had spent the prior week in internships across more than 20 embassies and diplomatic institutions, and were celebrated for their results in the public speaking and debate competition. Their questions during the day were — without exaggeration — sharper than what I usually get at corporate events.
In the foyer, the educational partners — Autonomous Flight Technologies, NextLab.tech, and Students2Space — staged hands-on demonstrations: rocket structures, autonomous flight, robotics kits, a quadruped robot wandering between guests. A reminder that the conversation about AI lands hardest when it stays close to physical things students can touch and break.
My thanks to Laude-Reut and to the strategic partners — AFI Romania, BCR, and Google Romania — for the invitation. Conferences for adults are common; conferences that take teenagers seriously and put them in the same room as ambassadors and ministers are rare. I'd be glad to do more of these.