The South Summit Brazil 2026 has already started in Porto Alegre, bringing together leaders, companies, investors, and experts to discuss the directions of innovation, technology, and business. Since the first edition of the event in Brazil, INSI has closely followed this agenda, participating in conversations that help translate trends into practical vision for the market.
Throughout the three days, this content will gather the main learnings from the event, with a special focus on the topics that most impact the transformation of companies, such as artificial intelligence, leadership, trust, security, and the concrete application of technology in business.
Day 1: More strategic, applied, and reality-connected AI
The first day of South Summit Brazil 2026 showed that artificial intelligence is being discussed in an increasingly mature way. More than attracting attention for its technological potential, AI appeared as a force capable of transforming how companies operate, make decisions, and build competitive advantage.
This vision became evident right away in discussions that presented AI as part of a more structural change. In “The Great Reorganization: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Companies, Markets, and Institutions,” Salim Ismail argued that technology should no longer be seen merely as an automation tool but as a vector for reorganizing the economy, organizations, and the way value is created.
At the same time, another strong axis of the day was the idea that scaling AI requires more than adopting new solutions. The debate advanced to topics such as execution, leadership, and governance, reinforcing that competitive advantage does not arise from isolated technology but from the ability to connect it to the business model and real operation.
The agenda also brought a relevant discussion about trust and culture. In “Secure by Design: Building Trust in the Age of AI,” Priscyla Laham, president of Microsoft Brazil, emphasized that security, continuous learning, and trust need to be part of the foundation of transformation. In a rapidly changing environment, the scale of AI depends not only on technological architecture but also on organizational maturity to deal with the new.
In “From Machines to Purpose: AI Empowering People, Communities, and Businesses,” Diego Puerta, president of Dell Technologies, provided a more applied perspective by highlighting that AI generates more value when it addresses concrete problems, close to the operation, the client, and the context in which decisions actually happen. The discussion reinforced that the maturation of technology involves its ability to move from the abstract field and produce real impact.
If the first day already points in a direction, it is clear: the next phase of artificial intelligence will be less about novelty and more about the ability to transform technological potential into concrete results, with strategy, trust, and practical application.
Day 2: Global mindset, governance, and competitiveness for growth
The program also opened space for a discussion on innovation and business expansion, broadening the perspective on what makes companies better prepared to compete in an increasingly dynamic and global environment. In the panel Innovation and Business Expansion, held at the South Summit Brazil 2026, Telmo Costa, CEO of INSI, participated in a conversation with Daniel Maranhão, CEO of Grant Thornton Brazil, and Felippe Prates, CEO of Novalogic Infrastructure and Data Center, moderated by Delton Batista, president of LIDE RS SC.
In line with the debates that have been marking the event, the conversation showed that sustainable growth does not depend solely on available technology, but on the ability to structure businesses with a long-term vision, operational excellence, and openness to change. Among the central points of the panel, the idea that the internationalization of Brazilian companies begins with mindset gained strength. More than scale or physical presence in other markets, expansion requires organizations to see themselves early on with global potential.
Throughout the discussion, Telmo Costa highlighted that the main barrier to growth is no longer in the technology itself, but in the human ability to change, learn, and unlearn. In this context, the Brazilian business environment, despite being challenging, can function as a school of resilience, adaptation, and preparation for complex scenarios, attributes that are increasingly important for companies that want to enhance their competitiveness.
Another strong point of the panel was the importance of governance and compliance as a foundation for expansion and attracting investments. The shared assessment by the participants was that businesses with growth ambitions need to build structure, processes, and credibility from the start. In a scenario where innovation needs to walk hand in hand with execution, these elements cease to be mere formal requirements and start to sustain the trust necessary to grow consistently.
AI, work, and human capabilities at the center of transformation
The agenda also brought a more human discussion about the advancement of artificial intelligence and its effects on work. In "The Soul of the Future: Humanity’s Role in an Automated World", the debate moved away from purely technological enthusiasm to raise a deeper question: in an increasingly automated world, which human capabilities need to be preserved and strengthened?
Among the central points of the conversation, the idea gained strength that the adoption of AI can follow very different paths within organizations. On one hand, there is the risk of a hollowed-out economy, where companies prioritize only short-term efficiency and end up weakening essential human skills. On the other, there is the possibility of an expanded economy, where people and technology evolve together, with AI taking on scalable and repetitive tasks, while professionals focus their energy on judgment, verification, leadership, and decision-making.
The discussion also highlighted a strategic point: the importance of preserving talent development over time. By eliminating entry-level positions or excessively reducing learning opportunities, companies risk compromising the development of professionals who will occupy, in the future, positions requiring greater discernment and responsibility.
Another relevant aspect was the advocacy for a more careful redesign of organizations. Instead of using AI merely as a tool to cut steps and reduce costs, the proposal discussed in the panel was to use it to free people for activities of greater human value, without losing sight of connection, trust, and capacity development.
Leadership, culture, and governance gain weight in the era of AI agents
The program also deepened the discussion on AI agents and the challenges of transforming tests and pilots into real-scale implementations. In "How to Lead in the Era of AI Agents", the debate reinforced that the main obstacle to this advancement is not just technology, but how companies define goals, structure governance, and prepare people to work in hybrid environments, with humans and intelligent systems working side by side.
Among the central points of the conversation, the perception gained strength that many projects fail due to excessive expectations and lack of design. When AI is introduced without clear objectives, without well-defined roles, and without connection to real work flows, the tendency is for the organization to get stuck in a cycle of experimentation that does not convert into concrete value.
The discussion also pointed out that the adoption of agents requires a deeper change in the way of leading. Instead of treating AI merely as an efficiency tool, the challenge becomes to redesign processes, adjust responsibilities, and strengthen human capabilities that gain even more relevance in this context, such as judgment, adaptation, verification, and clarity of intention.
Another important axis was the role of culture. Participants argued that transformation with AI does not start with isolated training nor merely by reviewing roles, but with a cultural foundation capable of sustaining trust, continuous learning, and psychological safety. Without this, even good solutions tend to face resistance or lose traction in operation.
Automation with purpose and space for the human
Among the conversations that concluded the program, a discussion about the relationship between humans and machines brought an important question to the forefront of the debate: in a scenario of increasingly advanced automation, what should not be delegated to artificial intelligence?
In the panel "Redesigning the Human-Machine Pact", the reflection moved away from purely productive logic to advocate for a more conscious use of technology. The central idea was that not every task needs to be automated, especially when the elimination of human contact compromises elements such as empathy, creativity, listening, and meaning-making.
The conversation also highlighted that AI can generate enormous value in areas such as education, health, and interdisciplinary collaboration, mainly by expanding access to information, accelerating analyses, and facilitating communication between different profiles and specialties. At the same time, participants argued that direct human interactions, such as conversations with users and more open listening processes, remain irreplaceable in contexts that require sensitivity, nuance, and interpretation.
The discussion reinforces an important point of the event's agenda: as artificial intelligence advances, the differentiation lies not only in automating more but in better deciding what to automate and what to preserve as human space.
Day 3: Quantum computing begins to move from the theoretical field to the strategic radar
The program also opened space for a discussion on emerging technologies beyond generative artificial intelligence. In "Demystifying Quantum Computing", Eric Van der Kleij from EdenBase & QBase, and David Ochi from UC Irvine, argued that quantum computing is starting to be seen not just as a scientific curiosity but as a strategic long-term opportunity for companies and investors.
Throughout the conversation, the idea gained strength that the sector is experiencing an important transition, moving from a predominantly scientific phase to a stage more related to engineering and the construction of viable applications. In this context, the growth of the startup ecosystem, the evolution of hardware, and the articulation between research and market help bring the technology closer to more concrete uses.
Another relevant point was the argument that companies and leaders need to become more familiar with this universe right away. The panel's message was not one of immediate mass adoption, but of preparation. As quantum computing becomes more accessible and relevant, understanding its potential becomes part of a broader agenda of innovation and technological anticipation.
Productivity with GenAI depends less on access and more on mindset
The discussion on artificial intelligence has also advanced to a topic increasingly central to companies: productivity. In "GenAI and the New Era of Human Productivity", Leandro Balbinot, Vice President of Supply Chain and Technology and CTO of Amazon, argued that the main differentiator in the era of generative AI is no longer access to tools, but how professionals and organizations choose to use them.
According to the logic presented in the lecture, a large portion of people still operates at a very basic stage of use, focused on tasks such as summarizing documents, organizing information, and speeding up research. The most significant gain, however, begins to appear when AI ceases to be just an operational assistant and starts acting as a partner in reasoning, refinement, and creation.
Throughout the presentation, Leandro Balbinot argued that professional value is shifting. Instead of rewarding only those who accumulate information, the new context increasingly values those who can connect patterns, structure good questions, interpret scenarios, and use AI to accelerate the transition from idea to execution. In this view, technology does not replace creativity. It enhances speed, repertoire, and the ability to test paths more deeply.
The panel reinforces an important point of the coverage so far: with the popularization of tools, the main frontier of AI becomes less technological and more strategic. The challenge is not just having access, but developing repertoire, intentionality, and maturity to transform AI into higher-value productivity.
Human-centered AI gains strength as a strategy, not just rhetoric
Another panel that deepened the discussion on responsible AI adoption was "Human-Centered AI: Choice, Not Chance", conducted by David Levi, from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. The main message of the lecture was that human-centered AI should not be treated as an abstract concept or reputational discourse, but as a strategic framework for organizations that wish to implement technology with more confidence, consistency, and real impact.
Among the highlighted principles, the idea gained strength that AI should be inspired by human intelligence, guided by its impact on people, and designed to enhance capabilities, not simply replace them. The talk also drew attention to the importance of building trust through continuous communication with workers and teams, especially in contexts where automation raises insecurity about roles, responsibilities, and professional future.
Another central point was the need to rethink organizational structures instead of just fitting AI into existing models. Instead of reproducing roles and workflows designed exclusively for humans, the proposal presented by David Levi was to reimagine processes, responsibilities, and forms of collaboration, taking into account both the capabilities and limitations of intelligent systems.
The lecture also emphasized that this journey requires a long-term vision. Implementing AI with quality involves recognizing uncertainties, avoiding decisions driven solely by the fear of being left behind, and facing a growing challenge: the risk of atrophy of human capabilities when technology is used indiscriminately. In this sense, the debate showed that the future of AI depends not only on what it is capable of doing but also on the choices made by companies and leaders on how to adopt it.
What remains from the South Summit Brazil 2026
Over the three days of programming, the South Summit Brazil 2026 left a consistent message: the ongoing transformation can no longer be explained solely by technological advances, but by the way companies, leaders, and institutions choose to incorporate them into the real world.
Artificial intelligence appeared in different areas of the event, from productivity to governance, from automation to the redesign of organizations, from trust to the appreciation of human capabilities. At the same time, other frontiers, such as quantum computing, reinforced that the debate on innovation continues to expand and demands a long-term strategic vision.
Among the main learnings that permeated the program, the perception gained strength that access to technology alone is no longer a sufficient differentiator. What now separates more prepared organizations from others is the ability to transform tools into direction, to connect innovation with execution, and to adopt new possibilities without losing sight of impact, context, and responsibility.
In this sense, the event also reinforced that the future of competitiveness will increasingly be defined by choices. Choices about how to grow, how to lead, how to automate, how to develop talent, and how to preserve what remains essentially human. In a faster and more intelligent environment, the challenge is not just to keep up with change, but to build criteria to make it a real and sustainable advantage.
For INSI, closely following this agenda since the first edition of the event in Brazil remains a way to translate trends into market-applied reflection. And if there is a possible conclusion from this edition, it might be this: the next phase of innovation will be less marked by novelty itself and more by the maturity with which companies and leaders will transform technology into value, trust, and concrete impact.