Why work with big tech companies? The experience of the European Forum in Riga
The debate on artificial intelligence and the future of work is increasingly taking on a dimension that goes beyond the purely technological. It concerns the organisation of society, the quality of education, access to opportunities, and the ability to navigate complex contexts. Technologies do not exist outside these processes. They develop and spread within economic, cultural and institutional systems that permeate everyday life: work, education, services and participation. It is within these systems that the real conditions for innovation are defined.
Within the processes, not on the margins
Working with major technology companies means entering the contexts where tools, models and languages are built that are destined to have a large-scale impact. This is not a matter of positioning, but of an operational approach: being present in the places where the trajectories of innovation are defined, helping to shape them. “As is also evident in the Foundation’s work, this involves continuous dialogue and collaborative development: sitting down at the table, discussing models, and setting educational and ethical conditions,” explains Director General Mirta Michilli. “It is a practice that requires time, expertise and mediation skills.”
Spaces for reflection within industry
The European forum Future of Work in the Age of AI, held on 16 March in Riga, offers a significant indication in this direction. The dialogue between businesses, institutions and social organisations highlighted how, even in the most advanced industrial contexts, a reflection on the human dimension of innovation is emerging. As was emphasised during the proceedings: “Change is not usually about technology; it is about people… it is a question of mindset, behaviour and motivation.” The concept of augmentation, referred to on several occasions, clearly expresses this approach: technological development is linked to people’s capabilities, rather than being considered in isolation. From this perspective, learning models are also being rethought. Ville Valtonen offered a striking analogy: “You don’t need to know how the engine works to drive a car.” The focus therefore shifts to accessibility and usability, reducing barriers to entry and promoting a wider dissemination of skills. At the same time, the growing role of micro-credentials is becoming apparent, as highlighted by Mitchell Peters, which enable rapid and modular updates within a context of continuous learning.
Working on the conditions
These elements shift the focus from the tools to the conditions under which they are used. Skills, behaviours, motivations and access to opportunities become determining factors in understanding the impact of technologies. Michaela Horvathova expressed this clearly, questioning current educational models: “What we measure, we value”. The real risk, she explained, is not intelligent machines, but “educational systems optimised for a world that no longer exists”. A reflection that highlights the risk of training systems tailored to contexts that evolve more slowly than the workplace and the skills required. In this sense, education takes on an infrastructural role. If connectivity is a widespread condition, digital culture becomes an integral part of essential services. It requires support, quality and continuity. It requires the ability to develop skills throughout one’s lifetime. It is a transition that calls for the development of universal services: access alone is not enough without skills and mediation.
Collaboration as a governance practice
Within this scenario, collaboration with major technology companies takes the form of a governance practice. The technologies that are redefining work and access to opportunities are largely developed and distributed by global players. Engaging with these players allows us to bring certain fundamental priorities into innovation processes:
- equitable access to learning opportunities
- attention to inequalities
- educational quality of tools
- development of widespread skills
This framework also encompasses collaborations with companies such as Google, which provide infrastructure, expertise and large-scale experimental environments. It is within these contexts that it becomes possible to work concretely on access to technologies, the quality of educational content and the development of inclusive learning pathways, linking technological innovation with the real needs of local communities.
A particularly significant contribution that emerged during the Riga forum concerns Google.org’s commitment to bridging the digital skills gap through structured and measurable initiatives. Among these, the European cybersecurity workshop programme involves 23 universities across 15 countries and has already reached over 3,000 students. The model adopted integrates training with social impact: once trained, students directly support local community organisations in protecting against cyber threats, helping to make topics often perceived as complex more accessible and understandable [see the article New Learning Models Made in Europe with Ville Valtonen and James Shires]. These initiatives are complemented by analytical and strategic guidance, such as the Ipsos report Making AI work for Europe, which provides public decision-makers and economic actors with an evidence base to guide the adoption of artificial intelligence in a responsible and people-centred manner. Taken together, these initiatives outline a role that goes beyond the provision of technologies: that of a catalyst for ecosystems, in which resources, skills and relationships help to make innovation more accessible, secure and relevant to citizens.
Governance, in this context, is not an exercise in control, but the creation of conditions: coordination between different actors, alignment of interests, shared responsibility. This perspective is also reflected in the work of Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford, who has highlighted how the ability to tackle complex systems – from the pandemic to economic transformations – depends on cooperation between public institutions and entities that possess technological infrastructure and computing power.
In highly complex contexts, technologies based on artificial intelligence enable the development of scenarios, the management of information on a large scale, and the support of decision-making processes. It is precisely this capability that necessitates coordination between different actors, in which institutions retain a role of guidance and responsibility, whilst businesses contribute expertise and infrastructure.
It is in this space that collaboration takes on concrete meaning: not as delegation, but as the shared construction of operational conditions and direction.
A task that is not very visible, but decisive
The forum also highlighted the concrete impact of these approaches. Paul Apostol told the story of Daria, a young graduate who could not find a place in the job market: “I had a degree, but to them I was nobody”. Through simulation tools based on artificial intelligence, Daria gained confidence and the ability to handle interviews, transforming a deadlock into an active pathway. Similarly, the experiences presented by Paul Duan and Étienne de Saint-Martin show how the use of AI in employment services can help “free up time for advisers so they can focus on the human element”.
This type of intervention rarely produces immediate or linear effects. It is not limited to a single initiative, but is built up over time, through relationships, projects and processes of mutual learning. It is, however, in this space that connections are forged between technological development and social needs, between innovation and quality of life, and between economic growth and participation. Engaging with innovation processes means helping to shape their trajectories, whilst keeping people and the contexts in which they live and work at the centre.
In the age of artificial intelligence, the issue is not merely what technologies make possible, but the conditions under which these possibilities translate into concrete experiences. As Soon-Joo Gog noted, drawing on Singapore’s experience, a skilled workforce represents “the foundation of an inclusive society where everyone benefits from growth”. It is in this space that the value of innovation is built. And in this space, collaboration becomes an essential tool for connecting technological development, education and inclusion.
Representing the Fondazione Mondo Digitale at the European forum were project manager Ilaria Graziano, head of planning, and project officer Marta Pietrelli.
