A little book on the necessity of not being content with a single story, which also says a lot about good corporate culture

Getting used to looking beyond appearances. Or rather, always looking for more sides to a story. Paying attention to what lies behind the picture we are presented with. Because the reality that we see is almost never the only one that exists. It applies to everyone. It’s a question of freedom and awareness, of wanting to understand more and better. Of wanting to act in a more effective manner, perhaps. This approach takes the motives and reasoning of others into consideration, as well as the (numerous) reasons for which situations, environments and contexts arise; it is the ability to prevent ourselves from stopping at a single interpretation of events (a single story), and is a quality that must be cultivated. In all of us.

For this reason, it is important – as well as highly enjoyable – to read Il pericolo di un’unica storia, the recent Italian translation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s video lecture ‘The Danger of a Single Story’. On the surface, this work seems worlds away from business culture and from good organisation of production processes, but in actual fact, this short text (less than 20 pages) is recommended reading for everyone. Even those who are in charge of managing the organisation of production on a day-to-day basis. Paying close attention to what lies behind and inside what we see or believe, after all, is also useful for those who make decisions regarding a product or a market, for example.

The message communicated by the Nigerian writer is simple. She intends to warn us against the risk we run every time we oversimplify a situation, and see reality from a single perspective. To put it another way, she refers to the danger of a single story, of the process of cultural ‘flattening’, of a vision of identity that erases different cultures and points of view. As such, the indications provided by Adichie are clear, and apply to every situation. And they call upon us to open our minds to every detail, every piece of information, every fragment of reality that could help us to understand the other, the others, the situations that arise and that would be irremediably lost if we were to stop at first appearances, at a single version of events.

Adichie’s book can be read in one sitting – it is well written and well translated – and takes the form of a short story, a public speech, something that might be said while walking down the street. The message is clear straight away. Yet it is a book that is worth the effort of re-reading.

‘Many stories matter,’ Adichie writes: ‘Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.’

Il pericolo di un’unica storia
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Einaudi, 2020

A collection of stories from Iuav University in Venice makes the reader reflect on the meaning of Adriano Olivetti’s experience today

The mythical Olivetti. A near-entity that, from time to time, is evoked, sought, re-discovered (perhaps), meditated upon, contradicted, disavowed, idolised. In difficult and complex times, including from the perspective of the economy and of production – and as such, with regard to business ethics, culture and social responsibility too – it is almost obligatory to return to reflect upon Adriano Olivetti and his philosophy of production, as well as being a sort of (dangerous) trend. Accordingly, good directions are indispensable, in order to prevent us from getting lost along the way, or above all, from taking the wrong road. And good directions are precisely what the collection of articles entitled ‘Olivetti. Comunità, conflitti, intelligenze., forme di vita” (‘Olivetti: communities, conflicts, intellects, forms of life’) provide. Edited by La Rivista di Engramma of Iuav University of Venice, they are the result of a process of introspection and of questioning what the work of the businessman from Ivrea really means.

The collection takes its inspiration from the realisation that the ‘Olivetti question’ is an ‘open and multifaceted question.’ Here begins a journey of analysis and in-depth study, conducted in several stages, with the contribution of many. First, a series of seminar meetings, then a collection of 21 interviews, designed to establish ‘the horizon’ or the boundaries of the theme and the resulting discussions, and then three essays on three specific topics: the (almost unique) encounter between the industrial and the artistic avant-garde, the tension in Olivetti’s company with regard to ‘novelty’, or rather to innovation and change – not only in technological terms but also with regard to human and social issues – and finally, the reconstruction of the story of a specific instrument of knowledge, as the magazine Centro sociale was.

This collection of contributions represents a source of reflections, and prompts the reader not only to seek to understand what Olivetti did, but, above all, to try to understand the limits of this, as well as the drive and inspiration that such an experience can still offer today.

One particularly beautiful and engaging passage summarises the degree to which the Olivetti story is still useful today, and how we still need to reflect upon it: ‘Perhaps in that project, and in that humanity, there was something of the “impossible”, and we today should question this, the failed utopia that this “impossible” represents, in order to continue to feed not so much utopia as hope; something that is and, in political terms at least, must always be, the last thing to die.’

Olivetti. Comunità, conflitti, intelligenze, forme di vita.
AA.VV.
La Rivista di Engramma, Iuav University, Venice, June 2019, no. 166

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In Davos. And in Assisi. At the World Economic Forum, which as it does every year has gathered together the most powerful people on earth, the leaders of politics and business. And in the basilica dedicated to St. Francis, where on Friday, 24 January the ‘Manifesto against the climate crisis for a people-oriented economy’, inspired by Pope Francis’s ‘Laudato si’ encyclical, will be presented. Two very different settings for what will be a key chapter in the future of our development and coexistence in society: the relaunch of the sustainable economy, to try and prevent irreversible damage to the environment and address problems of social inequality. New development paradigms is the common demand. A genuine turning point for the economy. With the world increasingly convinced that environmental and social sustainability is a new and better engine of balanced development.

‘I believe we can reconcile our economy with our planet, human development with the protection of our home. For too long, humanity took away resources from the environment and in exchange produced waste and pollution,’ commented President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the opening of the 50th Davos Forum on Monday, the 20th.

It is an important argument and a reason to insist on the Green New Deal, the inspiration for the new course chosen by the EU in Brussels, involving €1,000 billion of investments to redevelop and relaunch the economy, beginning with rapid decarbonisation and the closure of coal-fired energy plants as soon as possible (Germany, at the frontline of these efforts due to the strong convictions of Angela Merkel, will close its first plant this year and complete the process by 2038: ‘A watershed moment for a country where for one and a half centuries the ventures of the Krupp family, the coal of the Kumpels and the miners of the Ruhr and Lusatia have been synonymous with prosperity, industrialisation and the economic miracle of the post-war economy,’ according to Tonia Mastrobuoni in La Repubblica, 17 January).

It was the founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, who wanted to put environmental issues and the transition towards ‘clean capitalism’ at the centre of this year’s discussions, giving further space to topics that have already cropped up in previous years. There was a welcome reception for Greta Thunberg, the canny mouthpiece of the eco-friendly younger generations, who demanded an immediate stop to all investments in exploration and extraction of fossil fuels. American president Donald Trump, responsible for his country’s growing disengagement from environmental issues, was given a platform, but met with unease and little sympathy.

There is a recurring theme at Davos: the transition from shareholder value (the prioritising of shareholder profits and stock prices) to stakeholder capitalism, a system of business values attentive to the needs and interests of the consumers, employees, suppliers and communities affected by the decisions of businesses.

In August last year the Business Roundtable USA, which gathers 180 leaders of American multinationals, published a pledge in this direction, leading the Wall Street Journal to talk about an ‘ethical turning point’ in American capitalism. Schwab revisited this topic at Davos, confident that the international economic and political community would be listening even more closely than before. The most critical observers talked about greenwashing, an opportunistic form of environmental marketing spin designed to appeal to an increasingly environmentally-aware public. But if we look more closely at what is actually happening in the business world, it is clear that the choices being made are anything but opportunistic. In mid-January Larry Fink, president of BlackRock, the biggest investment fund in the world, wrote a letter to the CEOs of the biggest global companies and investors that have entrusted BlackRock with their resources and savings, warning them that the fund would only invest in those businesses that focus on sustainable projects and would vote against the administrators of companies who do not care about climate change. Climate Action 100+, a pressure group consisting of over 370 managers of investment companies with over $40,000 billion in assets under management, is working in the same direction.

In a nutshell, our wallets are voting green. And the entire global economy will feel the benefits. ‘A genuine revolution, even if unfortunately it is still slow,’ because of conservative political groups that are sceptical about sustainability and sections of the public hostile to economic change, comments Enrico Giovannini, spokesperson for Asvis, the Sustainable Development Alliance (Il Sole24Ore, 19 January).

Italy also has high-profile organisations in the area of sustainability, as documented by the judgments of the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) on Italian businesses on the Climate A List, the list of global leaders in the fight against climate change: Pirelli (for the second consecutive year), Intesa, Enel and Brembo.

At the same time, sustainability has long been one of the values and goals of a wide range of companies which, in the evolution of business culture, view it as a crucial competitive factor. Businesses attentive to the environment and social issues (from inclusion to welfare, from the safety and quality of work to innovation as a response to change) precisely because they are inextricably linked with areas in which the culture of quality products is rooted. And therefore inclined towards sustainability as a basic characteristic of their survival on the market and ability to compete.

The effect can also be clearly seen in the signatures on the so-called Assisi manifesto, which we have mentioned and which will be presented in public and discussed in the Basilica of St. Francis on Friday, the 24th. Promoted by Ermete Realacci (Symbola), Father Enzo Fortunato (Sacro Convento of Assisi), Vincenzo Boccia (Confindustria), Ettore Prandini (Coldiretti), Francesco Starace (Enel) and Catia Bastioli (Novamont), and signed by over 1500 figures from the worlds of business and culture (Carlo Bonomi for Assolombarda, Carlo Sangalli for Confcommercio, Carlo Petrini for Slow Food, Antonio Decaro for Anci, the association of Italian municipalities, the mayors of Milan Beppe Sala, Florence Dario Nardella, Bologna Virginio Merola and Naples Luigi De Magistris, plus Renzo Piano, Stefano Boeri, Innocenzo Cipolletta, Aldo Bonomi, Stefano Micelli and, among many others, yours truly), the ‘Assisi Manifesto’ for a sustainable, circular and civil economy insists on the fact that ‘the climate emergency is not just a necessity to address with courage, it is also an incredible opportunity to construct an economy that is stronger because it is people-oriented. And Italy, in Realacci’s words, ‘can implement it using its experience as a European leader in the circular economy.’ Confirmation of the validity of this strategy can also be seen in public opinion: ‘82% of Italians believe that sustainability can foster the economic growth of the country‘, reveals Nando Pagnoncelli, chairman of Ipsos, in his weekly survey in Corriere della Sera (18 January).

In short, Davos and Assisi represent a positive step forward in the green development process.

A book about the potential of networking

Knowing how to ‘do’ our jobs, but above all being able to communicate and build relationships with others, sharing and passing on our own abilities, and creating a network of relationships that will last over time, whilst focusing on being fully rounded men and women, and not just sentient ‘robots’: this is what companies and the labour market are increasingly demanding from us. And it is also one of the effects of the reign of digitisation, which only apparently replaces the work of people with that of machines.

Gianfranco Minutolo reflects on the potential of relationships compared with simple knowledge, in his work I robot non sanno fare networking (per adesso) (‘robots don’t know how to network (for now)’), which has just been published.

The book is based on the idea that the current labour market appears to be displaying an increasing interest in so-called soft skills, which serve to make one individual better equipped than another for a particular role. In addition to this, it appears that top among these soft skills, which will enable both young and older people and to deal with the exponential social and technological changes that await us, is the ability to create and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships over time. This is what many people know as networking.

The text is thus a simple, passionate and detailed account of the most effective networking dynamics and techniques. The element that distinguishes everything is the experience that lies behind the issues being explored; the book is the result of the author’s personal experience, and thus recounts a series of real-life cases. Each example is equated to portions of in-depth methodological study, accompanied by quotes; these are referred to as ‘take-aways’. The work is designed to help people to understand how the skills learned in forty years of experience can be replicated and are within the reach of the reader, through training and a good methodological approach.

Indeed, Minutolo’s long business and professional background provides the foundation for his writing; he has occupied several prestigious roles in the alumni relations department at Bocconi University and as director of the Bocconi Alumni Association (BAA). And he writes well, succeeding in providing the reader not only with the information he or she needs, but also, and above all, with a sense of what needs to be done in order to add to the knowledge he or she may possess by building the relationships that are required in business.

After reading Minutolo, it is abundantly clear that networking is an important element of good corporate culture, and one which must constantly be cultivated and developed.

I robot non sanno fare networking (per adesso). 12 take away su come creare e gestire relazioni interpersonali nell’era digitale
Minutolo Gianfranco
Guerini Next, 2020

A research project on the evolution and prospects of work in the post-modern era is discussed at LUISS

Work today: the result of a journey through modernity that we must seek to understand fully, if we wish to gain a better idea not only of what is happening now, but, above all, what may happen in the future. And beyond the various interpretations, we must also make use of ‘calendars’ of what has happened so far; these are a source of information and therefore of knowledge. This is what Marianna Guarducci has attempted to achieve – with great success – in ‘La condizione postmoderna: riflessioni sull’uomo e sul mondo del lavoro’ (‘The post-modern condition: reflections on people and the world of work’), her thesis at LUISS University, where she studies the methodology of social sciences with the department of political science.

The purpose of her research is stated from the outset: to ‘extrapolate the unique aspects that have affected and continue to affect the condition of people and the world of work from a general overview of the development of today’s society.’ Naturally, Marianna Guardrail’s goal is ambitious, but she works to achieve this with great dedication.

As mentioned previously, the method used in this instance is a careful chronology of what has happened so far. The author writes that her study is ‘a journey through the major social changes in the most industrialised countries over the course of the last century.’ Accordingly, it begins by taking a closer look at the ‘birth of modernity,’ before moving on to an analysis of the subsequent interpretations of it, and to the issue of work in the contemporary era and the digitisation of production and companies, without forgetting one of the most important aspects: ‘The loss of empathy in the workplace.’

Guarducci, however, does not limit herself to an analysis of history; instead, as a solution to the loss of empathy and human relationships within companies, she proposes a formula of network marketing, viewed as a multi-pronged approach to be taken by the worker.

Marianna Guarducci’s analysis highlights the difficulties experienced in the current climate, but also attempts to look at a positive path. ‘Today,’ writes the author in her conclusions, ‘the future can be seen as a rebirth of empathy, moral principles, ethics, ideals. […]

In the corporate world, companies are increasingly affiliating themselves with organisations that offer training and focus on personal growth, stimulating workers, managers and employees to develop leadership skills and engage in team-building activities, leading their employees by example and learning how to successfully share teamwork strategies, encouraging interaction and the development of deeper personal connections within the working environment.’

La condizione postmoderna: riflessioni sull’uomo e sul mondo del lavoro
Marianna Guarducci
Thesis, LUISS University, Department of Political Science, Methodology of Social Sciences, academic year 2018–2019

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The Touring Club Italiano has turned 125: dating back over a hundred years, an idea of mobility in search of the marvels of Italy is being celebrated. Right from the early years of the twentieth century, Pirelli entrusted its own visual message to the Rivista Mensile del Touring – the monthly magazine of the Touring Club – and to its covers, sharing the Club’s idea of progress that was sweeping through the country at the time. How modern is the girl in her driver’s outfit, complete with visor glasses and white gloves, who in 1910 appeared on the cover of the magazine, testifying to the performance of Pirelli & C. Milano tyres! And what a magnificent sense of strength and dynamism we see in the column of cyclists painted by the artist Ballie for the cover of the April 1913 issue of Touring!

Pirelli and the Touring Club Italiano magazines painted the history of Italy on these covers, with Mario Stroppa’s artwork, for example, showing how Milan was expanding in 1908 with the new Pirelli factory in the Bicocca district. They tell the story of the first cars, the dream of modernity, through the imagination of internationally renowned draughtsmen like Stanley Charles Roowy, who created the famous cover showing a red car with its body spelling out the words “Pneus Pirelli” in 1914. Its driver is a tamer, a new inventor of fire.

In 1917 the Touring Club’s Le Vie d’Italia hit the newsstands with pictures of Pirelli tyres as clear symbol of modernity: the new covers testified both to the Great War and to the desire for peace, with an array of flags adorning the “Tyre of the Allies” in 1919. The cover designed by Nino Nanni in 1929 for Pirelli Superflex Cord tyres is also highly emblematic, with a white car hurtling along a cliff-side road, faster than the speedboat and the plane.

Once again, the car was a symbol of the modernity that inspired the Touring Club Italiano and that roared along the asphalt on Pirelli tyres.

Factories possess a memory that is surprisingly relevant. Italian businesses know this full well, which is why, nearly 20 years ago, a number of them got together to launch Museimpresa. The initiative, backed by Assolombarda and Confindustria, was born of the idea that factories are the physical and mental places where the past meets the future, and where business culture, permeated with history and innovation, is a crucial asset for competitiveness.

Recently, this idea has also been held with growing conviction by businesses in France, where in 2018 alone more than 15 million people visited over 2,000 production sites. On 2 January, La Stampa noted that 94% of businesses patronised by ‘industrial tourists’ are SMEs, and 60% are food companies, many of them shops and places for tasting products. This is where the value of discovering the ‘culture of production’ meets the pleasures of the palate and high-quality food. Naturally, the list of attractions includes big businesses like EDF’s power plants, the automotive plants of Renault and PSA (Peugeot and Citroën) and the aerospace giant Airbus. Then there are historical factories like Manufacture Bohin, which still makes its special needles in the 19th-century buildings where its history began, and which now also house the company’s museum. The number of French people showing an interest in manufacturing appears to be on the rise, up 25% from 12 million in 2012. In fact, Routard has even begun reprinting its famous guide dedicated to the industrial sector.

All this attention reveals a new underlying awareness, both cultural and economic. At a time of crisis for aggressive capitalism and the kind of neoliberalism built on questionable financial tactics, a paradigm shift towards more sustainable and balanced development must be built on the real economy, on production work that combines quality, innovation and social responsibility. In other words, factories, as a place of productivity and inclusion.

France’s interest in industry is firmly backed by its government’s actions in terms of economic and industrial policy. French policy-makers hope to increase the contribution of industry to the country’s GDP, now at a measly 12.5%, in order to quickly reach the 20% goal set by the European Commission, well aware that Germany – Europe’s leading manufacturer – is already above 20% while Italy stands at 17% on average, with peaks of 25% in the more industrialised regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and the north-east.

The problem in Italy, unfortunately, is that while companies are doing everything in their power to invest, grow, innovate, acquire new market shares and transform according to the sustainable paradigms of a competitive green economy (as confirmed by the latest Symbola report), the recent ‘yellow-green’ and ‘yellow-red’ governments have fallen hostage to a pervasive anti-industrial, anti-enterprise and anti-innovation spirit, championed by the most numerous party in parliament, the Five Star Movement. Therefore, hindered by an adverse economic climate and politicians who are indifferent if not downright hostile to industry, our companies find themselves struggling, and are forced to cut back on investments, thereby losing ground against increasingly aggressive international competitors. However, it is impossible to conceive of a future of jobs, reforms, high quality of life, and new waves of investment in welfare and the environment, without assigning a primary role to the industrial sector. It is therefore high time for Conte’s government to fully own up to this reality and provide the country with solid industrial policies, rather than empty words.

Companies, for their part, are doing what they can, by working and innovating. They are opening themselves up to the public, well aware that transparency in production processes strengthens the bond with the customer base and facilitates that necessary shift from a culture of shareholder value (which focuses on the company’s profit and stock market performance, important but not paramount) to a culture of stakeholder value, which foregrounds the interests and values of workers, consumers, suppliers and residents of the areas where the company operates (a topic we have tackled many times on this blog). The framework is that of a ‘fair economy’, circular and civil (an economy with an eye on the civitas, to paraphrase noted economist Stefano Zamagni).

Open factories, social and environmental sustainability, the rebuilding of trust between businesses and civil society, an idea of the manufacturing sector as one where new generations can look for professional and personal growth. In this regard, it is worth highlighting the growing success, in terms of interest and participation, of a series of initiatives we wrote about recently: the Settimana della Cultura d’Impresa (business culture week) organised by Museimpresa and Confindustria, the PMI Day (SME day) sponsored by Confindustria’s Piccola Industria (on which 1,300 factories were opened to 46,000 young Italian people), and the OpenFactory events created by ItalyPost and Corriere della Sera‘s L’Economia magazine, which saw 50 sites opened to the public on Sunday, 24 November, with more than 22,000 participants from Emilia, Lombardy, Friuli and the Veneto (including at the Campodarsego factory of Carraro, a maker of high-tech components for tractors that are in high demand all around the world), as well as many areas of Central Italy. The regional government of Piedmont also organised ‘Fabbriche aperte’ (‘open factories’) in early November, where over 8,000 people visited 120 companies (particularly successful were those in the agri-food sector). Finally, the last weekend of November saw ‘Manifatture Aperte’ (‘open manufacturing’), organised by Milan council to celebrate the return of manufacturing to the city, with ‘fab labs’ and start-ups. A melting pot of popular interest in our firms and their role as key players in development. They represent industrial tradition, digital economy innovation, and expertise from craftsmen and machines; a culture of skills. All are linked by one basic idea: revitalising school-work programmes and, moreover, showing our youth that a good factory, efficient and sustainable, safe and inclusive, is a blend of knowledge, innovation and culture, and a great place to build a life and a career.

Within this framework, the French model for rekindling public interest in the industrial sector can only serve as a stimulus for Italy’s business world to do more, and better. Let us hope that our government and politicians will too, finally, play their part, with responsibility and foresight.

A study by the University of Urbino providing empirical evidence on the links between productions and entrepreneurship

Business is about more than just profit. It is a complex blend of feelings, emotions, every-day life, past and present experiences, dreams. A living business, in other words, is the result of something that transcends the bottom line, to reach a more engaging, nay fascinating, dimension. Something that is not theory, but real life.

Mauro Dini, Annalisa Sentuti and Tonino Pencarelli (researchers in management at the University of Urbino), have attempted to pinpoint the exact traits of this phenomenon by empirically applying the socio-emotional wealth (SEW) perspective. This locution refers to all the non-financial aspects of a family business that satisfy the emotional needs of the family itself, such as the family’s image and identity, its ability to exert influence, and the perpetuation of its line. ‘Succession and family business viability. A case study from a socio-emotional wealth perspective’, is the result of this investigation, which attempted above all to comprehend and explain the dynamics for development and performance improvement within a specific third-generation family business facing a situation of financial crisis.

After providing some theoretical background on the role of SEW in business, the paper illustrates the team’s research method and then proceeds to discuss its findings, starting from the story of the company under study and finally examining its evolving dynamics in terms of SEW.

Dini, Sentuti and Pencarelli explain how numerous elements indicate progressively decreasing SEW levels from one generation to the next, as the family displayed less and less emotional attachment to the business, replaced by an ever-increasing focus on commercial and financial objectives. The study ends by highlighting how certain conditions are capable of strengthening a family’s emotional bond with its business, as well as the connection between successor and company. The greater focus on commercial and financial goals may, therefore, not necessarily have been triggered by lower levels of SWE, but rather by the desire to restore what we now call performance, with the underlying goal of saving the business, which continues to be perceived as the source of the family’s financial and socio-emotional wealth.

The research paper by Dini, Sentuti and Pencarelli is certainly useful in better understanding the real-life ramifications of the theories of good business culture.

Succession and family business viability. A case study from a socio-emotional wealth perspective
Mauro Dini, Annalisa Sentuti, Tonino Pencarelli
Sinergie. Italian Journal of Management, Vol. 37, Issue 1, 2019

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A new book detailing humanity’s journey through the evolution of technologies all the way to the pressing matters of today

The past and the future, stopping at the present along the way. Three things that can confuse anyone who truly attempts to understand more about the current situation. Three things, however, that are all deeply linked, and which sooner or later should be pondered by everyone. Especially, perhaps, by the entrepreneurs and managers who want to live up to their positions (and, obviously, by those who are called on to decide the future of social and political entities).

Anyone interested in undertaking such an endeavour should read The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity, the latest book from Byron Reese, an expert on new technologies who is also CEO of research company Gigaom, which does research on technologies and social systems.

The study is part of the vast body of current research into the evolution of humanity’s technological and productive assets. The author begins by stating that, throughout its history, humanity has already been transformed by technology three times, and that today we are on the brink of a fourth major transition, brought about mainly by two technologies: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics. Reese’s goal – in which he is successful – is to explain various scientific hypotheses that illustrate how we have come to the present situation and, most importantly, that help us better assess the moment we are living in.

The book has a number of strengths. The first is its language, which seeks to be clear and readable, and has the feel of a story. Then there is its ability – as journalist Emil Abirascid, founder of startupbusiness.it, notes in his introduction – to tackle a complex theme with nearly endless implications, including some that today we can only imagine, while taking into account every point of view, and analysing the various possible scenarios without neglecting even the most radical positions.

Clarity and intellectual honesty are defining features of Reese’s book, which begins by summarising mankind’s journey up to this point, and then moves on decisively to the topic of AI, discussing the thorny issue of intelligence and consciousness in computers, before finally delving into the fourth age of technological evolution.

The greatest strength of Byron Reese’s book, however, is that it provides a number of important tools of knowledge, and none of the pre-packaged answers to the many questions that new technologies bring up.

As the author puts it at one point, ‘No one knows how far all of this can go, but at some point we may start to wonder where the human ends and the machine begins. Old questions will take on new dimensions: What does it mean to be a human? What are life and death? Are you your body? Are you your brain? Are you your mind?’ In the closing paragraphs of his work, while sketching out a future that is still unimaginable yet ultimately positive, Reese reminds his readers of a crucial underlying condition: ‘It is no longer simply an idle dream but a real possibility. It is no longer a question of resources, it is simply a question of will.’

The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity
Byron Reese
Franco Angeli, 2019

A newly translated book discusses the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human condition

Machines versus men. Machines at the service of men. Thinking machines. Living machines. The theme of the digitalization of processes (of various kinds) connected to the development of Artificial Intelligence, is alternately seen as a threat and an opportunity, as a paradigm of the brightest future possible for humanity, or as an example of that black hole in which the same humanity will end its existence. That also applies to production and business. Machines, therefore, that will mark the end of (human) work and that therefore also here, depending on the viewer, will mean poverty and misfortune for workers or wealth and happiness instead. It is evidently between these two extremes that we need to look for the true meaning of what is happening. Reading “Digital Humanism: An Ethic for the Age of Artificial Intelligence”by Julian Nida-Rümelin and Nathalie Weidenfeld serves this purpose. And it serves it superbly.

The book, by the very declaration of those who wrote it, is not just a scientific text, but something different, because it seeks to bridge the gap between philosophical reflection, cinema, literature, the natural sciences and information technology. All to outline what is called “digital humanism” and that is “something that meets human beings where they are without being hostile to technology. It differs from apocalyptic positions because it trusts in the reasoning of human beings and from euphoric positions because it considers the limits of digital technology”. The opposite, that is, of what the authors call the “ideology of Silicon Valley” and which is nothing but a position attentive to the needs of technology and to those of men.

Apparently a more than natural and sensible approach. In reality, something very complex to deal with, because, all things considered, not exactly measurable and codifiable.

Nida-Rümelin and Weidenfeld therefore undertake a unique journey that employs not only the results of science but also, and above all, those achieved by philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, economists and politicians using suggestions from literature as well as from cinema. The result is a journey that touches on everyday life, feelings, mechanisms of choice, those of process optimization, economic rationality, morality, friendship, ethics of course, communication, culture, education, democracies, social living and more besides.

The two authors write in a passage of their conclusion that digital humanism contrasts the ideologization of digital technologies with “an attitude of sobriety”.

The book by Nida-Rümelin and Nathalie Weidenfeld can be read quickly, but it should be read carefully. And perhaps reread.

Digital humanism: An Ethic for the Era of Artificial Intelligence
Julian Nida-Rümelin, Nathalie Weidenfeld
Franco Angeli, 2019