Professor George Mitakidis is one of the most recognized Greeks in the field of information and communication technologies internationally. For more than four decades he has served research, education and policy-making around the digital transition, with a deep belief that technology should serve societies – not dominate them. From university classrooms to the European Commission, and from the international TEDx podium to strategy-making groups on artificial intelligence, his career has been identified with consistent advocacy for the human dimension of technology.

A Greek at the centre of digital Europe

Born in Thessaloniki, George Mitakidis studied Electrical Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and obtained his PhD in the UK. With a career spanning three continents, he has taught and served as a visiting professor at leading universities such as Imperial College, the University of Toronto and the University of New Mexico. In 1988 he became Greece’s National Representative to the EU’s technology programmes and soon joined the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. He worked for more than 15 years as a policy advisor and scientific coordinator of cutting-edge European research programmes. Having worked closely with the European Commission, the Council of Europe and international think tanks, Mitakidis has been actively involved in shaping the framework for Digital Europe, promoting policies for technological inclusion, open access to knowledge and digital ethics.

A visionary with a social compass

At a time when Artificial Intelligence is evolving at breakneck speed, George Mitakidis is a constant reminder that evolution should not be removed from the human being. Through his contributions to international forums, articles and speeches, he has repeatedly stressed that AI is not just a tool for development, but a crucial factor in shaping societies – and as such must be governed by rules of transparency, inclusiveness and fairness. His words in a recent public intervention are characteristic:

“AI must serve 8 billion people, not 8 billionaires”.

Through his action he reminds us that technology is a political act. When designed without social consciousness, it can act as a tool of inequality, exclusion and control.

Greece at the centre of technological thinking

From the beginning of 2000 onwards, George Mitakidis returned to Greece, where he taught at the University of Macedonia and worked as a research associate at EKETA and other research institutions. He contributed to the development of innovative educational and research activities and was a mentor for dozens of young scientists. With a sober but incisive speech, he never hesitated to ask critical questions: Who controls the data? How are citizens protected in the digital world? How is equality of access guaranteed? He was not content with theories: he was present where decisions were taken. His timeless discourse did not stop at just the questions, but at the moments when he was at the table. George Mitakidis continues today to articulate a public discourse on the technological issues that concern us all: from personal data and platforms to genetic engineering, AI and climate technology. His stance is firm: without democracy, transparency and inclusiveness, progress is a blank slate. Visionary but never detached from reality, Mitakidis reminds us that the future is not predetermined. It is a choice. And to be fair, it needs people who know, who care and who intervene. People like him.