From the future of Artificial Intelligence to the future of people: youths

“Society“, Fondazione Bruno Kessler President Francesco Profumo points out, “is experiencing a strong acceleration due to the digital revolution and this entails a great challenge for institutions, such as FBK, which aspire to be present both at a local and international level. For this reason, it is necessary to keep a high level of attention focused on young people and their future, with the aim of transferring knowledge in ways that are different from traditional school-based ones. Our aim is to help young people to learn how to learn, i.e. to acquire the skills necessary to face the rapid changes of the present and of the future “.

We will start in January with informative conferences dedicated to high school students, universities and citizens, such as the ten-meeting series called “Building the future“, jointly organized by FBK and the University of Trento with the precious collaboration of Piero Angela, and “Stasera che scienza!“, where important national science popularizers will address some of the most debated topics. Additionally, many school-work projects will be launched, such as “cheAria” involving over 400 students from high schools in the Trentino area in the creation of a sensor network to monitor air quality in our towns, and “La bottega della scienza“, a participatory research laboratory in which students from three local schools will carry out research projects based on proposals received from citizens.

In February, we will hold the second edition of [PRO] M Camp, a living lab promoted to encourage high school students to cultivate new skills in the field of Industry 4.0. Also, FBK’s dialogue with schools on stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination and verbal violence against religious minorities will continue thanks to the “DICO DI NO” project and will deal with the issue of cyberbullying with “CREEP“, proposing prevention tools through the creation of new technologies. Throughout the year, there will be scientific research projects such as CLIMB – for sustainable mobility since elementary school – and many other activities involving kids ranging from elementary schools students to graduates. In the summer, the WebValley Data Science school will be back in its 19th edition.

The activities will be presented and followed on the Foundation’s official social networks with the hashtag #imparareaimparare, to start a conversation with those who will participate, collecting impressions and suggestions to improve.

FBK, research in Artificial Intelligence and beyond

Fondazione Bruno Kessler has been committed for over thirty years to an Artificial Intelligence that does not substitute human beings but supports them. FBK closes a year in which a lot of room has been made for this topic: for example, at the event called The Pleasure of Research in AI, where attendees had the chance to listen to some of the top experts in the field at a global level, or on the occasion of the 17th conference of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence, whose public event entitled “Angels and Demons of Artificial Intelligence” recorded a big audience of citizens. As part of the strategic operations on the subject of AI we were among the founders of CINI (National Inter-university Consortium for Computer Science)’s new National Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems inaugurated in July and with more than 600 researchers throughout Italy: more than 80 of these come from FBK. Also, the Foundation is part of the European network of research infrastructures called CLAIRE.

With a focus on the future of mobility, the € 18.5 million 5G-CARMEN project has also been launched. Coordinated by FBK CREATE-NET, it aims to build – in the next three years – the 5G corridor between Munich and Bologna, with 600 km of network-connected motorways, 40 service areas and unparalleled technological solutions that promise significant advantages for onboard safety, infotainment and reduced environmental impact.

Among the main results achieved in 2018, there is also the consolidation of the local system initiative called Q@TN which, with the collaboration of the University of Trento and CNR, coordinates the respective ongoing activities and starts new initiatives in the field of science and quantum technologies. Q@TN promotes research projects, technology transfer, education and training.

“Technologies challenge our societies to keep pace with a global competition in which Europe is being compressed between China and America. – President Profumo concludes – FBK and Trentino, which hosts one of the 7 European nodes of EIT, are the key players in this game. At the same time, machine learning and AI are an opportunity to question the limits of development and also to learn to formulate new big questions with our long-standing aim: to improve lives and make the cities in which we live more friendly, putting people at the centre, within data evidence-based administrations. On this front, if one does not have the key competencies to drive, rather than undergo global trends, one falls behind. This is why investing in young people is the only way we have to build the future. “