Italy’s new strategy for Artificial Intelligence aims to foster innovation and research and position itself as a leader in the world of technology. The country is also preparing a legislative framework to regulate the sector and is encouraging the public administration to invest in AI projects.
The initiative, backed by the Italian bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), aims to promote AI projects to help solve real-world problems in fields such as health and the environment. It will include an accelerator-like program for identifying and supporting startups with AI solutions for public administration and providing prize awards, seed funding, and access to venture capital investors.
It will also fund the development of new research chairs in AI and promote projects to encourage the return of professionals working in the area to Italy. It will also finance platforms for sharing data and software at a national level to enable the creation of a permanent AI working group within the Interministerial Committee for Digital Transition.
Backed by CDP Venture Capital, a unit of state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the fund could raise a further 2 billion euros from the private sector, the company’s chief executive Agostino Scornajenchi said. The initiative is part of a new national strategy for AI that Italy plans to launch this year in the context of its presidency of the Group of Seven major democracies. It is designed to ensure that AI’s growth doesn’t negatively impact jobs and inequality. It also seeks to establish safeguards to help avoid risks such as cyberattacks.
The initiative will also boost training in AI systems and promote projects to help people develop digital skills and find work. The country has a particular challenge, with 54% of its population aged 16-74 needing more basic digital skills.
Italy’s AI strategy will promote technological development while ensuring the technology is human-centered and trustworthy. It should also promote social inclusion and environmental sustainability, in line with the principles contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Italy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The strategic plan was drawn up by a high-level working group set up by the Ministry of Economic Development and drafted by the Minister of Economic Development, Finance and Industry, Giovanni Tribolet. The Ministry of Economic Development announced that the final version will be published in July 2020. It will accompany a policy implementation roadmap over the next three years. It will be complemented by measures to support the growth of the country’s AI ecosystem, such as the promotion of STEM subjects and increased doctorates, as well as measures to create a data infrastructure for the public administration and specific support for startups with GovTech solutions. The government will also be looking to foster partnerships between research bodies and companies in the field of AI.