On September 24-25, 2021 Aspen Institute Italia, TIM and Intesa Sanpaolo organized the international conference “Ethics and Artificial Intelligence”, under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic and with the cooperation of Aspen Institute Germany, Institut Aspen France and the Academy of Sciences of Bologna Institute.
The COP26 offers a crucial window of opportunity in the struggle against climate change. After the G20 in Naples, the Glasgow conference under the Italian and British presidency will be a moment for the world’s most prominent economies to scrutinize fulfillment of the 2015 Paris Accord pledges and discuss future steps.
Post-covid recovery needs women. Women’s empowerment is pivotal to tapping our society’s potential and meeting the challenges of the coming years. The digital revolution and the ecological transition are processes poised to stimulate the raising of a new development model above the wreckage the pandemic will have left behind. The need to draft new paradigms is precisely what makes diversity and broader vision at all levels, starting with decision makers, fundamental.
The world economy has started down the right path to achieving the environmental goals set by the EU and those underwritten in Paris in 2015, but still lags behind in terms of deadlines. European efforts must, in any case, be viewed within the broader global context, since all the data point to Asia – headed up by China, but not exclusively – as the worst offender in terms of harmful emissions. This is especially due to the use of carbon in this phase of post-pandemic economic recovery. Asia remains the principal problem even considering the combined American and European contribution.
Relations between the European Union and Russia have been turbulent lately, and there are currently no signs of that letting up, if not in terms of specific and limited pragmatic expectations. The two parties agree substantially on the assumption that dialogue is the preferable tack in diplomatic relations, even in the presence of deep differences of opinion and interests. Not even a summit is to be viewed as a reward or concession, yet can be useful as an occasion for frank discussion of the thornier issues.
The digital revolution has profoundly changed how goods and services are consumed by increasing their availability online, thereby enhancing the role of web platforms. Indeed, these latter have been an essential tool for extending political rights such as freedom of speech, and for framing new ones, especially within the economic sphere, such as consumer rights. At the same time, however, they have laid the groundwork for a concentration of overriding powers, and the abuse of those powers.
Today’s international scenario is distinguished by a strong interdependence of foreign policy and domestic priorities, particularly as a lever for economic development. The pandemic has once again confirmed the need for broad multilateral cooperation in the spirit of “build back better”. This in terms of sustainable transition (production as well as consumption) and fairness, along with the management of regional and global conflicts and tensions.
In corporations and in cities, it is people that make the difference. This was the theme of a discussion with Marco Bucci, one-time corporate manager in Italy and the United States and now mayor of the city of Genoa.
The pandemic has not halted global trade and, with recovery now in sight, the data offer an encouraging picture. Nevertheless, the scenario has changed dramatically. The globalization of the 1990s and the early 2000s have given way to a global fragmentation that has led various countries to reinforce bonds with historic allies and trusted partners.
Training is going to be key to the post-pandemic economic recovery. Indeed, with the crisis having accentuated social divisions, the accelerating digitization process has even more starkly foregrounded the skills divide.
The national and regional rules applied during the pandemic and the subsequent economic and financial downturn are fragmenting the global economy, reducing transparency and fueling injustice. In an effort to buck this trend, it would seem opportune to discuss the need for establishing a series of global legal standards.
The pandemic has highlighted the fragility and disparities of a National Health Service already hard put to confront the combination of an ageing population and the growing incidence of chronic pathologies. As a result, the political agenda is now focused on striking a new balance between macro assistance levels (moreover, previously indicated in “fiscal federalism” reforms) and the proportioning of related standard costs.
In what is a changing transatlantic and international context, the European Union has opened a new phase in the debate on the digital economy. It could be said that institutional constraints no longer exist on regulatory activity in this sector; the problem now is, if anything, to direct political will and garner broad consensus on updated rules. The principle of digital taxation has been outlined in general terms, even at the level of the transatlantic dialogue, but the precise legislative details still need to be worked out.
Technology transfer is critical to generating solid economic recovery. Nevertheless, in Italy, the knowledge transformation underway in applied technologies research finds itself having to contend with a shifting scenario: although the country boasts a good number of national champions, the aggregate data show delays in a range of areas, which impacts heavily on its capacity to create critical mass and competitiveness.
Two underlying problems were identified and discussed during a conversation with Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia: citizens’ limited trust in judges (cited as a “moral issue”), and the excessive length of trials. The latter, especially in the prosecution of tax evasion, has a significant detrimental impact on the economy.
As it leaves the health emergency behind, Italy is focusing on economic recovery. The European resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan offer major opportunities in a shifting scenario. On the one hand, the crisis was not the result of structural problems, but rather due to a situation created by the pandemic; this means that, despite the difficulties of this forced arrest, reviving the economic machine should not be too problematic. On the other hand, however, these long months of inactivity have compromised the financial situation of many firms.
In the “phygital” world, enterprise is the perpetual fulcrum of a system that hinges on a community of persons. This is true of business, marketing and communications. New priorities are emerging in the race to keep customers – by capturing their attention, boosting credibility and instilling trust – with the primary focus on corporate identity and accountability.
