Athens, AI, and the Return of the Agora
On June 18, we hosted the first Practical AI Meetup in Athens, a new monthly initiative powered by Mindstone in collaboration with Starttech Ventures. Held in the vibrant space shared by Starttech and Epignosis, the event marked the launch of a community where AI enthusiasts, builders, and curious minds can come together to learn, share, and grow. With over 100 participants, three distinct talks, and plenty of post-event dialogue over pizza and drinks, it’s safe to say the Athens AI community is wide awake and ready to engage.
Organising this first meetup felt like more than just a geographical milestone. It was a return to the city where philosophy matured, where Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle once gathered to question, debate, and redefine knowledge itself.
Today, artificial intelligence is prompting us to reconsider how we learn, think, and produce knowledge. Much like philosophy did over two millennia ago, AI challenges our assumptions and reshapes the frameworks we use to understand the world. Imagine having a Socrates or a Kant in your pocket, ready to guide your reasoning or pose the right question at the right time. With AI, this isn’t mere fantasy. It’s becoming a practical reality.
This spirit guided our first Athens meetup. The evening featured three talks, each offering a distinct perspective on how AI is reshaping our work and thought processes.
Learning with AI at Scale
Yannis Rizos, Chief Software Architect at Epignosis
Yannis Rizos opened the evening by sharing lessons from integrating large language models into TalentLMS, a platform used by over 25 million learners. He walked us through the challenges of deploying AI in a learning environment, from ensuring reliability to managing costs and coordinating between teams. His insights grounded the conversation in the practical realities of building AI-powered tools that actually help people learn.
A Pantheon of Knowledge Agents
Avgoustos Pantazidis, Co-Founder & CEO at Lean SpaceTech
Next came Avgoustos Pantazidis with what many of us agreed was one of the most compelling talks across all Mindstone meetups so far. He introduced us to a pantheon of AI agents, each with defined roles, working together to create a full investment report. It wasn’t just a demo. It was a glimpse into a future where knowledge work can be structured, delegated, and scaled through agentic workflows. A constellation of gods collaborating toward a shared goal.
From Managers to System Architects
Stefano Piano, Head of Community and Partnerships at Mindstone
I closed the evening by reflecting on what all of this might mean for the future of work. If AI can help us learn, and then help us organise and produce knowledge, what happens to the people managing these processes? The role of the manager is evolving. We’re moving from task supervision to system design. Managers are becoming architects and coaches, responsible not just for people but for the collaboration between humans and machines.
After the talks, the conversations continued over pizza and drinks, carrying forward the energy sparked by the presentations.
But this is just the beginning. Like Plato’s Academy, which provided a space for young thinkers to practice philosophy, we’re creating environments where people can learn, build, and engage with AI in meaningful ways. The seed has been planted in Athens and we look forward to nurturing this community in the months to come.👉 Our next Practical AI Meetup will take place in September.
📬 Join the Mindstone Community to get early access to events, resources, and discussions: https://community.mindstone.com/
