Aspen Italia held the 42nd edition of its ASL program, with the participation of about 200 people (from the US, Italy, UK, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Singapore), in its traditional, beautiful setting of Venice. The five seminars this year focused on various crucial issues in today’s international economic debate.
“The future of capitalism” considered the relationship between market and state, underscoring the importance of maintaining a balance between the two. In “Industry 5.0”, participants discussed technological developments – such as ChatGPT – that are influencing industry, especially for the next generation, even altering the relationship between work and quality of life.
The energy seminar focused on the geopolitical consequences of the green transition, especially in Europe, as the war in Ukraine has led the EU to drastically reduce gas imports from Russia, rendering the question of energy security increasingly complex.
Two more seminars dealt with social issues. One on “the silver economy”, with a discussion of our future, as the older populations in Western countries continue to increase, while birthrates fall. And another on the importance of science in social policy: participants here highlighted the importance of research in solving crises, as was seen during the pandemic; they also called on the scientific community to focus on improving communications, in order to draw the general public into a greater appreciation of the importance of scientists and their discoveries.