At the Raisina Dialogue, the geopolitical forum underway in New Delhi (India) on the occasion of the G20, now in its eighth edition, 250 decision-makers from all over the world are discussing the direction that humanity will follow in the near future, to get out of the storms perfect of the present. One of the tools that unequivocally contributes to directing the compass of this trajectory is innovation, with particular reference to digital and artificial intelligence, which has recently come within everyone’s reach with the entry into our lives of Chat GPT.
The event, organized by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation, highlighted the urgency of accelerating the digital transition in every area by presenting the research “Micro Matters: Using data for development in the era of the fourth industrial revolution ” which highlights that emerging technologies such as AI must be optimized to be implemented at scale in the most essential fields such as health or agriculture. Data confidentiality and security must be guaranteed to build trust. Scalability and replicability are essential and alternative solutions must be offered where connectivity and access are a challenge. It emerges that it is necessary to work collaboratively and adopt a multi-stakeholder approach. These lessons highlight the importance of leveraging technology, partnerships and data-driven information to drive social regeneration and improve citizens’ lives.
Technology is changing everything around us and leaders must be ready to face the challenges that this change implies. We are in a new world that requires new models of leadership, capable of making bold decisions and sustaining effective diplomacy to manage the complexity of the world and India has a key role in the new global scenario and must be ready to lead the global South in an innovative way. “India’s digital ID program is one of the best in the world to bring about significant transformations” is what Tony Blair underlined in his speech. For this reason, he says, “we are going through a new era”. Digital is the measure of the reduction of development distances between developed and developing countries. This trend is also very clear in the words and provisions of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, who spoke of D4D, i.e. data for development, where a data-driven culture today is the only one truly capable to guide the decisions of the powerful of the Earth for the well-being of humanity and therefore for the achievement of the 17 sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda. A concept that naturally includes the other innovations of the moment: artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics , Internet of Things. It is these tools that contribute to constituting the knowledge economy, which however must be integrated with that of care and well-being, overcoming the short-sightedness of adopting purely economic-financial indicators to measure well-being.
Is data the new gold? Is digital really the bridge to sustainable development and international cooperation? Is the artificial intelligence revolution within everyone’s reach destined to change social and labor market models? The Rome Call for AI Ethics which the Pontifical Academy for Life launched on 28 February 2020 and which was signed by the Future Food Institute and by giants such as Microsoft, IBM, FAO, by the Italian Ministry for Innovation, invites us to reflect on the sense of responsibility in the design and use of digital innovation for technological progress, so that they are at the service of genius, creativity and the human mind and not vice versa. This ethical premise is necessary to give substance to the agreements and guidelines that emerged from the Raisina Dialogue in the field of digital and innovation. However, it is not enough, since once again man is at the center of the design and application of this tool. It is therefore education and training for a new humanism, the element that can really make the difference, teaching to think and value the talents and values of humans and their social and environmental interactions, without succumbing to toxic digital addictions, to the forced isolations which in fact have led to unprecedented effects on mental health worldwide, a real pandemic to be eradicated and a key element to talk about sustainability.