On 26 February, Arel hosted the seminar ‘Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration: Potentials and Criticalities’, dedicated to a discussion on the institutional and organisational transformations linked to the adoption of AI in the public sector.

The proceedings were introduced by Claudio Lucifora (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), who recalled the uncertainty on the effects of AI on productivity and the strategic role of PA as a system lever, and moderated by Marianna Madia (Chamber of Deputies). In the course of the reports, Lorenzo Casini (IMT Lucca) framed AI as an institutional transformation of the State, recalling the nodes of governance, competences and human control. Daria Perrotta (State General Accounting Office) insisted on training and cooperation between administrations, illustrating RGS applications to support pre-legislative activity and expenditure monitoring.

Speeches by Antonio Naddeo (ARAN) explored the impact of AI on the organisation of public work and on labour relations, emphasising the need for skills and the risks of an ‘invisible’ use of tools, especially on the data and security front. Mario Nobile (AgID) presented the outline of the forthcoming guidelines, clarifying the current level of autonomy of the systems and recalling the need for clearer choices on governance, investment and national/European technological capacity.

The conclusions of Tiziano Treu (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) recalled the potential of innovation, emphasising the specific responsibility of the public decision-maker in governing its impact.