Italy is working on AI and innovation

Artificial Intelligence has an important place on the agenda of Italy's upcoming G7 presidency, but the national strategy for AI will continue to favor caution over Silicon Valley-style leaps forward. And in the background, however, remains our country's difficulty in fostering any innovation ecosystem. That's what Alessio Butti, undersecretary of Palazzo Chigi with responsibility for innovation, told to Il Foglio and which was reported by MiTD. An interview that touches on several points of interest for business innovation.

Regarding AI, Butti points out the inevitable presence of very different views on how far companies should be allowed to go in developing and adopting AI-related solutions. For Butti, the necessary balance can be found at the European level, with the EU assuming its classic role of a place of mediation. Or, for the less optimistic, of compromise.

"The issue of deregulation raises a crucial question of the balance between regulations and innovation: there is a threshold where regulations can be an obstacle to innovative development, but Europe has always distinguished itself in defining regulatory frameworks that influence global policies," Butti explains.

The definition of the Italian strategy in the AI field is expected for the G7, also because we live in a moment in which it is impossible not to address the topic. And it is still necessary for nations to discuss how to manage a technological development that is proceeding very fast and promises major impacts in any sector. The Italian strategy wants to be based on "a synergy of entrepreneurial skills, thus responding to the lack of an Italian industrial leader in the AI sector," Butti explains.

The ecosystem problem

While innovation in many fields is accelerating, Italy's ability to manage it seems to be taking steps backward. It's because of historical gaps still to be filled, but Butti warns that it's OK to "strenghten domestic companies and startups," but not indiscriminately: "we cannot waste public money on realities aiming only at a rich exit, perhaps in favor of a foreign buyer."

That's why the goal is certainly "to develop a competitive ecosystem, fostering partnerships among Italian companies," but putting clear stakes in place. Rules of engagement, Butti calls them: "those who receive public money will have to commit not to have sudden exits, which would lessen the value of public efforts in the sector." Because for a country like ours, which does not have that many funds, wasting money is impossible.

This scenario obviously entails the risk that domestic tech startups will go elsewhere for funds. To avoid this, "with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Agenzia per la Cybersecurity Nazione we want to foster new talents, to prevent them from going elsewhere for their growth expectations," the undersecretary explains. Italy should also attract investments from abroad. But it struggles to do so, and Butti does not deny it: "Any foreign brand has a hard time investing in Italy for reasons well known to anyone, such as the high cost of labor, bureaucracy and the overly dilated times of justice."