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The new Microsoft Italia project, announced today in the Milan House, translates into a personalized program for businesses, public administration, professionals and students aimed at promoting the opportunities of generative Artificial Intelligence not only for public and private companies, but also for professionals and students, aimed at maximizing the positive impact of new technologies and supporting responsible adoption of generative AI.
Ai generative which is transforming the global competitive landscape, accelerating technological change, opening up new scenarios of economic growth and social development. A change that is necessary, as certified by the recent study by The European House – Ambrosetti with Microsoft Italia, which calculated that a pervasive adoption of generative AI can produce, for the same number of hours worked, up to 312 billion euros of annual added value, equal to 18% of Italian GDP. However, with the same amount of wealth produced, the use of generative AI tools can free up a total of 5.4 billion hours, which can be dedicated to other more strategic and valuable activities.
Companies that have already sensed the potential. According to the study, one company in two has already tried using AI solutions and 70% of those who have tested them claim to have obtained advantages in productivity. The benefits of generative AI cut across all sectors: currently, the financial, manufacturing and healthcare (and life sciences) sectors are the most mature markets for the use of generative AI and the business processes that are benefiting most from it benefits, thanks to a more efficient management of large quantities of data, are R&D, design and production and supply chain. Many companies, certainly the most structured, have already begun to use AI in strategic marketing through data analysis, as a support system in the creation of strategies. But predictive data analysis is only part of the automation process that will come with the introduction of generative AI, which has the flavor of a new land of conquest. On the other hand, among the main barriers for the full adoption of These technologies highlight skills and a concern about privacy, security and reliability aspects for 72% of companies. Concerns which, thanks to initiatives similar to those of Microsoft, can disappear and leave room for the certainty that AI is a keystone for business processes, as highlighted by Vincenzo Esposito, CEO of Microsoft Italy: “We need to support businesses, professionals and students to orient themselves in this new scenario, helping them to understand the opportunities and transformative power, with a strong attention to the ethical aspects and responsible development of these technologies, fundamental for their adoption in total safety and on a large scale. This is why AI LAB wants to offer companies the opportunity to start testing generative AI in their organization and, together with our partners, identify adoption scenarios. It also allows us to spread the right skills needed to help the country grasp the potential of AI. We want to help Italy accelerate, it is an unprecedented opportunity that we cannot miss”
Training and assessment programs for companies, professionals and students
All analysts agree on one point: to seize all the opportunities of generative Artificial Intelligence, Italy must accelerate the digitalization of businesses, with particular attention to SMEs. In this context, in addition to the technological infrastructure, investments in training and development of the skills of professionals and students will be crucial. The AI LAB program will allow assessment activities through personalized consultancy. implementation of advanced technologies and training in the AI field. But also to internally identify AI application scenarios and develop a responsible adoption roadmap with tangible benefits in terms of growth and productivity. The role of Microsoft’s partners, who have joined the AI LAB program and who will accompany the companies in all phases of the program, is fundamental in this path.
Accenture, AGIC Group, Almawave, Altitudo, Avanade, Avvale, Capgemini, Engineering, EY, Hevolus, Jakala, MESA, Porini/DGS, PWC, Reply, Prometeia and Trueblue are the first partners to make services, skills available to companies and dedicated resources in all phases of the projects. AI LAB will also launch training programs designed for professionals and students through strategic collaborations already started with ELIS, H-FARM and Talent Garden to guide professionals in the acquisition of technical and business skills , necessary to govern the new processes enabled by AI. In the University and Research sector, Microsoft Italia aims to develop synergies with the universities of our country to integrate specific courses on generative AI and research activities on new technologies within the study programmes. The first to join with a Memorandum of Understanding is the Puglia Region with its main universities – University of Bari, Polytechnic of Bari, University of Foggia, University of Salento, LUM Giuseppe Degennaro University. The agreement provides for the introduction of specific seminars and laboratories on AI in degree courses with the involvement of Microsoft experts and partners, collaboration for research projects, specific training activities on the topics of Artificial Intelligence also for students coming from non-STEM paths. The objective of the Memorandum of Understanding is to support the training of highly specialized professional profiles, capable of satisfying the needs of the world of work and national production chains, through the creation of a skills hub and a network of businesses in the area to facilitate digital innovation and stimulate synergies with local SMEs, the academic and research world.