The resources now available to science and technology have become immeasurable. The human brain has been creating increasingly smaller and powerful technologies that, in many cases, surpass human strength and capacities. Machines are digitalizing and perfecting nearly every sector, some of which are undergoing a revolution of unprecedented proportions.
As the deadline approaches for the UK government to decide on whether they will ask for an extension to Brexit negotiations, the discussion of the future of EU relations couldn’t be more crucial. In this episode, Marta Dassù, Senior Advisor for European Affairs at the Aspen Institute Italia and the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, moderates a conversation between Anthony Gardner, former US Ambassador to the EU and Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, EU Ambassador to the UK and former EU Ambassador to the UN.
Aspen Institute Italia hosted a conversation on the results of the 17-21 July European Council between Minister Amendola and Giulio Tremonti, during which they discussed topics of major interest in the casual “off the record” style typical of the encounters organized by the Institute.
The first 2019 meeting of the Aspen Junior Fellows focused on analyzing the European Union’s plans and prospects in this year of parliamentary elections.
“Knowing Europe in order to change it”, could be said to have been the discussion’s leitmotiv. The Treaties map out the objectives toward which the Union must strive, such as balanced economic growth and price stability, and the instruments employed must be capable of meeting the ambitious goals that the common project envisions.
Modern medicine is in continuous evolution, with discoveries and technologies unimaginable until just a few years ago. The field of immunology could not have conceived, for example, of an immune system capable of being “educated” to combat tumor cells, and yet today there is a vast amount of clinical evidence of exactly that. Advancements in research have led to various paradigm changes that have overturned previous ideas about disease and the human body.
Enormous investments have been going into artificial intelligence for some time now. In some cases the returns have been unclear; neither are we entirely sure what artificial intelligence, machine learning and algorithms are, or what the difference between them is. What is certain, however, is that the future of the economy and of the society is inextricably bound to this new technological revolution.
The technological and economic convergence of electrical and gas grids will be what marks the future energy transition, and it will be up to a modern delivery system to create a more sustainable, efficient and circular energy system. The move is toward a change in the energy mix. Indeed, although 46% of electrical power is produced today from coal and nuclear, considerable growth in the use of renewable energies is expected for 2030. The most effective management of the transition, then, will mean keeping environmental and economic sustainability in mind.
