Good morning everyone, and thanks above all to Undersecretary of State Alessio Butti for organising this initiative, which I consider to be extremely important because artificial intelligence is the greatest revolution of our time, as well as being the main challenge that lies ahead, from an anthropological point of view, from an economic point of view and in terms of productivity and social impact.

We were used to progress that aimed above all to optimise human capabilities and essentially focused on replacing physical work, in a world that in any case continued to be human-centred, allowing people to concentrate on concept-based work and organisational roles. Artificial intelligence has turned this paradigm upside down, because it is no longer physical work being replaced; human intellect now risks being supplanted, in other words the very thing that has always prevented people from being replaced by machines.

This technology can only achieve its full potential if it is developed within a framework of ethical rules that focus on people and their rights and needs. This is the compass that has guided and will continue to guide our work, at all levels, starting of course with our Presidency of the G7.

To address this challenge, the Government has decided to avail itself of a committee made up of Italy’s leading experts, who have worked with great skill over the last months to draw up a document to help define a national artificial intelligence strategy, and we are using this as a starting point for our work. This committee has made an extraordinary contribution, for which I would like to thank all its members, who I intend to receive soon at Palazzo Chigi.

Based also on this input, the Government is drawing up a piece of legislation in order to establish a number of principles, to define rules in addition to those stated by the European legislation currently in the process of being approved, and to identify the most effective measures to boost our productive fabric. Furthermore, we are working to identify the most suitable body to act as the authority responsible for how technology based on artificial intelligence is used. 

We believe that there can and must be an Italian way when it comes to artificial intelligence, an Italian way to develop artificial intelligence and an Italian way to govern artificial intelligence.

Paving the way requires strong support for research, for experimentation and for those production entities that already exist in Italy but clearly need to be developed in order to become more resilient and more competitive.

This is an ambitious goal and requires the contribution of Italy’s entire economic system if we are to achieve it. However, Italy’s economic system clearly also needs us to start from this nation’s great ‘champions’, hence why I would like to thank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and CDP Venture Capital in particular. Thanks to their commitment, it will be possible to invest EUR 1 billion in artificial intelligence, both by establishing a new investment fund specialised in artificial intelligence and by using existing investment funds that cover this kind of technology. The purpose of this mechanism is clearly to act as a multiplier and serves to attract further investment.

So, thanks once again to Undersecretary of State Butti and to all those who will be speaking at today’s event. The Government will of course take your contributions and proposals into account, I will take your contributions and proposals into account, especially in my role as G7 President: as you know, Italy has chosen to make the issue of artificial intelligence and its development and governance a key focus of the Italian Presidency. And, clearly, until then and beyond, we must continue our discussions, because it is by discussing and debating ideas that the most effective and innovative solutions to the problems of our time always emerge.

I sincerely thank you for this very important initiative, and I am truly sorry not to have been able to join you in person. I will give your input the utmost consideration. 

[Courtesy translation]