Digital G7, road blocked for China on AI. Urso speaks
What was talked about in Verona at the G7 on Industry, Technology and Digital and what Minister Urso said in response to questions from Start Magazine
The first of two G7 ministerial days on Industry, Technology and Digital took place yesterday at the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona and was chaired by the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, in an appointment that continues today with a new meeting in nearby Trento in which the undersecretary Alessio Butti will also participate.
Who was there
But in the Venetian capital where the President of the Region Luca Zaia also showed up at the end of the works, there were not only representatives of the 7 big names on the planet. In fact, delegates from South Korea, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates participated in the three sessions distributed throughout the day on the upper floors of the sumptuous building located in the central Piazza Bra, who spoke with the host Urso and with a parterre of guests that included the Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Action of Germany, Robert Habeck, the Vice-President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada, Francois-Philippe Champagne, the Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Taku Ishii, and his colleague Deputy Minister of the Interior and Communications Junji Hasegawa, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom, Michelle Donelan, the French Secretary of State for Digital, Marina Ferrari, and the Senior Counselor for AI and Employment Development at the US Department of Commerce, Zoe Baird.
Session I, Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies
In the presence of the three Outreach Countries, the first session was dedicated to the themes of 'Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in Industry', in a discussion "focused – we read in the press release of the Ministry of Made in Italy – on the potential positive impact of AI, with reference to the increase in productivity, efficiency, innovation and scientific discovery", without obviously neglecting all the "risks connected" to the application of a still new technology which is raising many questions as well as much enthusiasm and industrial fibrillations.
A specific focus was therefore allocated "to the driving factors and challenges of the adoption of AI by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises", dedicating particular attention to the "role of quantum technologies" with reference to "their potential in the acquisition , transmission and processing of information, as well as in promoting discoveries in the fields of chemistry, materials and physics".
Session II, secure and resilient networks and supply chains
In the second session the topic of "Secure and resilient networks, supply chains and key production factors" was addressed: a discussion in which we reflected on how to "ensure global value chains, with particular attention to the key role of semiconductors as fundamental elements for the digital economy, for economic security and resilience”.
The debate also addressed the issues of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks as well as submarine cable networks as they are considered crucial to promoting global connectivity.
Session III, Global Digital Advancement
In the third and final session the focus shifted to the concrete actions that G7 countries can undertake to "facilitate global digital advancement, promote inclusive and sustainable development and help accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals". In particular, the discussion focused on "how to bridge the digital and gender divides by 2030, promote sustainable economic growth, address the challenges associated with digital transformation and ensure that the benefits of technologies are shared equitably".
But the leaders also addressed the topics of "Secure and resilient networks" and "Supply chains", with particular reference to the actions necessary to ensure global value chains. And the key role of semiconductors clearly emerged in the awareness of the participants, understood as fundamental elements for the digital economy but also for economic security and, ultimately, for the resilience of our societies.
Actions that G7 countries can take to foster global digital advancement, promote inclusive and sustainable development and help accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals were then discussed.
The key theme of the day
AI was the main topic of this full immersion in which ministers and other representatives of the G7 and Outreach Countries questioned what role this disruptive technology can play in helping governments, nations and peoples to address the challenges of development, those of education but also non-secondary aspects such as health and the climate crisis.
AI, Taiwan and China
In the final press conference, Minister Urso illustrated the conclusions of the work and answered a dozen very pointed questions, for example on Taiwan which, despite being a protagonist in the semiconductor market, "for obvious reasons cannot be here to compete with us , even if – the minister revealed – we will involve at least a couple of major players from that very important country”.
However, the door is closed to any collaboration with China in the delicate field of the development of AI algorithms, despite the advances recorded there, "because we want to collaborate first and foremost with the countries that follow our values and, together with them, follow an anthropocentric model – euphemism that is, not directed by an ideology and a party – of which we have an ancient and extraordinary example in Italy, that man Leonardo who combined art, science, technology, innovation and humanism", said the head of the Ministry of Businesses and Made in Italy at Start Magazine .
An authority on AI?
However, the hypothesis – highlighted in recent days by Start Magazine – of establishing an ad hoc authority or extending the prerogatives of already existing bodies such as the Privacy Guarantor or Agid is half-shut.
“As regards the Authority – was Urso's response – and therefore also the application in our country of the AI regulation recently approved in its final formula by the European Parliament, the discussion is underway in the government which, I remember, it is led by Palazzo Chigi”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/g7-digitale-strada-sbarrata-alla-cina-sullia-parla-urso/ on Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:35:55 +0000.