The title chosen for the conference, "Human Intelligences", is clear and significant, accompanied by the quotation of a passage from Pope Francis' Laudate Deum "For when human beings claim to take God’s place, they become their own worst enemies." (LD, 73).
During the event, students of computer science, technology, philosophy, theology, pedagogy, psychology, sociology, together with students, were faced with the challenge of governing large linguistic models such as, for example, ChatGPT, with creativity and responsibility.
During the first session, the work focused on some fundamental assumptions for everyone, such as the current scenario of integral ecology and the grammar of artificial intelligence. Subsequently, a further step was taken by discerning the questions of meaning and the ethical implications for discerning between forms of human intelligence, and between natural and artificial. The first day ended with a look towards the future, with a report on the need for change and the importance of being trained to face it.
On the second day, the reports went into more detail in the world of education, with talks on the school situations of excellence in the field of robotics in the so-called Robot Valley of Emilia-Romagna and on the relationship between Artificial Intelligence and the educational world, to conclude with a projection on the world of work with a view to inclusivity. And at the same time, a specific workshop on ChatGPT was also planned for young students.
The work finally ended with the official presentation of the "Youth and Future" Observatory. "With the birth of the observatory" explained Fr Nicola Giacopini, Director of IUSVE "our Institute also wishes to consolidate itself as a platform for research, documentation and in-depth study on issues of interest to academic and non-academic actors, private and public. Research activities may be linked both to internal research projects and to external research activities, coming from public and private entities."
For example, already during the conference, a joint IUSVE-Ipsos research was illustrated from which it emerged that young people are more open (46%) than the average for Italians (37%) to the improvements introduced by the use of Artificial Intelligence and that they believe that it will be able to improve their work – although at the same time they are concerned about some distortions which it could cause.
This is why Davide Girardi, Head of the "Youth and Future" Observatory, said: "Within the paradigm given by integral ecology, attention to young people and their strategic centrality is the frame of reference that will merge every activity carried out by the Observatory".
The IUSVE "Youth and Future" Observatory aims to be a meeting point between the university and the local area, consolidating collaborations not only in terms of research, but also of training and opening up to synergy, both with public and private actors.
