All of us, like it or not, have to deal with it technology. From the morning, when the alarm on our smartphone rings, until we drive our cars or use our PC. Everything today is technology. We have it in our pocket.. On us. Around us. Because even our cities are increasingly smarter. Brilliant. Cutting edge. Technological. And theartificial intelligence it will only improve (if used well) our world.
The editor of the newspaper, Alessandro Sallustiopens the first panel, explaining how Milan is experimenting with something new in terms of mobility. Starting from Einstein: “Life is like riding a bicycle, if you want to stay in balance you have to move”. The bicycle, in fact, is a bit of a symbol – continues the director – of a new and different mobility. In Einstein’s time, men were abandoning bicycles for cars, today the opposite is happening. The bicycle is a concentration of crazy technology that is at the center of the smart city concept.
“Smart cities are unexplored territory, we need to go into the impossible. How will we move in the future? Obviously there are risks in the impossible. Artificial intelligence is the practical example of this”, claims Sallusti, “because it can not improve our quality of life, our way of relating. And in this, cities are an asset to be safeguarded”. The city, in fact, is not just a question of architecture, but of culture and identity. “Technology tends to flatten, but cities cannot all be the same. Technology can be used to improve the mobility of our cities, making it easier to orient ourselves but without getting lost.” Technology, infrastructure and mobility must find harmony to create a better future.
Stefano Zurlocorrespondent of the newspaper, takes up Sallusti’s words and begins the conversation with the professor in Automatic Control at the Polytechnic of Milan, Sergio Matteo Savaresi: “What we are trying to create is a simpler use of autonomous driving compared to robot taxis. We have understood that the critical moment is to bring the car into sharing when the user needs it and when he no longer has it. It is the element in which the car sharing element can become mass. And this is what is missing in the mobility of the future because we must move towards shared mobility.” However, legislative intervention is fundamental, says Zurlo: “There is a decree that allows it – replies Savaresi – today we are experimenting using a safety driver, which today does nothing, only supervision. One day it won’t be there. we are still ready for this model. in 2025 we will have collected a sufficient number of kilometers. We are also wondering about the possibility that this service can also serve the elderly who, in smaller towns, need to be taken to the pharmacy or to the clinic. mail”.
The technology is far ahead of the regulatory framework, Zurlo argues. “In Italy we have the technological capabilities and the technology. We are not behind the others,” says Savaresi. “The robot taxi is unthinkable for us because the topology of our cities is much more complex and colossal investments are needed.”
Francesco MaldariCEO of UnipolTech, supports the importance of the black boxes installed on cars: “We have around four million of them and they have sensors that are used primarily for insurance purposes. We talk about artificial intelligence as well as gpt chat, which allows us to create a language. But there is also one linked to image processing. We, for insurance purposes, use AI to recreate accidents and understand the dynamics. Thanks to the algorithms we have developed, integrating and processing the data, they determine even the responsibility for an accident”. Also because in Italy there are 2.8 million uninsured cars, Zurlo points out. “Today, in some Italian regions there is already the Move in project which allows traffic for polluting vehicles based on green boxes, an application that analyzes drivers’ driving styles and determines whether they are decisive or not”, explains Maldari. “In this way it is personalized and meets the issue of a fair transition. It is obvious that those who have lower energy class cars have less financial resources. It is therefore important to take this into account.”
Danilo GismondiIT Director and Digital Transformation Officer Autostrade per l’Italia, insists on the importance of artificial intelligence: “We have invested heavily in it for years and it must be at the service of human beings. We have looked for useful solutions for the company and for drivers. Today there are nine traffic vans that travel around Italy and which, in addition to the assistance activity, have data centers, with cameras on each side that report defects when traveling along the motorways. They monitor the network and do it for free with artificial intelligence. These vans have been running for nine months now. Machine learning techniques allow us to detect problems and carry out inspections and maintenance activities. We use the computer vision technique, i.e. cameras, which combine verification and safety activities “storage of images that can be useful for control activities”. And the construction sites? “This way it will be easier to live with it. Ours is a slightly old motorway and they will always be there to modernize it. Today we do it thanks to systems which, with algorithms, study the impact on users. So let’s position the construction sites based on the needs of those who use Autostrade, with an estimate of queues. We have been able to carry out such accurate planning and inform users since the summer of 2023”.
Andrea GranelliPresident Kanso, supports the importance of well-being within the cities of tomorrow. “More than smart, I would say witty. Mobility is made up of technologies, places and people. And this is the first phenomenon. There is technological innovation and business models, such as car sharing. Mobility is transformation of behaviors: not only how they drive, but also how they live. And then the meaning of things. Let’s think about how a bus can be used: both as a tool for getting around, but also as a means to carry out attacks , linked to the wars around us and to hacking. Today the most interesting theme is that of the technological dimension. Sometimes we are excessively fascinated by it technology is not the only panacea for all ills. It can be both a medicine and a poison. The theme of virtualization focuses on presence. Understand the place I go through. An experience that enriches the journey, therefore”. The model is complex: “We have very complex cities. The case of Perugia is interesting, starting from the part inside the walls. And then with the minimeter. Combining functionality and aesthetics is fundamental. You are not just a passive transporter who needs to get to your destination. Another particular case is the little red train. The concept of travel and its experience must be at the center of everything.”
Some Italian cities seem prisoners of their own history, continues Zurlo. “The heart of everything is the scalability of car sharing, which partially works in Milan. In a city like Rome, which is larger and less dense, it is not feasible. Today Milan is unique. Using Unipol tech data we understood that the car model that arrives alone works in Milan and its hinterland and also in cities like Padua. With an autonomous one, 11 private cars could be removed. In Padua, 8 or 9. We are missing out on the isolated villages in the mountains , for example. In this way all the cars that are on the road today could also be made.” In this way our cities will become more beautiful. “A few months ago, the USA and Europe banned Chinese software on autonomous cars. This is because it is a matter of national security. Imagine having millions of cars controlled by a country that could also be an enemy. All you would have to do is push a button to do very bad things. We must therefore strengthen our technology for a matter of national security.” A theme echoed by Maldari: “We have proprietary technology. We invest directly in terms of software technology. Technology and innovation will help improve people’s lives and we must invest in this sense. The more we are able to process data, the more these are the advantages for our policyholders. New cars with more advanced and autonomous safety systems have lower accident rates.” Even highways are working in this direction. Gismondi explains: “We are not at all behind with technology. We protect what we create. The technologies exist and we use them to serve the company and the citizen. We don’t know what China is developing, but they are developing very important technologies. And the the issue of security becomes fundamental. Cyber security today is aimed at avoiding attacks from other countries. Any infrastructure could be blocked by an attacker and this is where modern companies invest a lot.” For Granelli it is essential to understand the technology in its entirety. “Critical thinking is not taught. There is a complexity that requires critical thinking towards technology. Today digital pathology is not studied. Control of technologies is fundamental, in the sense that they must be made robust so they don’t crack. Italy has an extraordinary capacity for creativity and we manage to do more with less.”
According to Savaresi, in ten years there will be fewer cars in our cities because they are now unsustainable. “Electric is almost certainly the ideal solution. The long-term technology is right, but pay attention to the path. Europe’s reasoning was too simple. A colossal stupidity that leads to a disaster. Pay attention to the path, therefore. The point of arrival is the electric, but the route makes the difference. The electric is fabulous in a context of shared cars that do 50/60 thousand kilometers a year. Europe has given us an unsustainable electric /20 years”. Unipol’s aspect is pragmatic: “We study the behavior of our customers in the car – explains Maldari – some can already benefit from it today. As regards evolution, there is a cultural aspect. The new generations are less attached to the car. They don’t have the concept of car ownership like we do. They are more inclined towards shared mobility. It is an increasingly widespread cultural aspect.” For Gismondi “electricity is one of the components, but not the only one. Alternative sources must be supported. The entire electric production chain must be changed, also for a question of sustainability. For us too, the behavior of individuals is fundamental” . Finally, Granelli concludes: “We need to think about the change in mentality: why and when to move.
Today we know that moving is no longer necessary, at least by car. There is also a question of travel planning. Einstein said: it is much easier to break an atom than a prejudice. We have to do it.”