Six students aged 15-17, who were selected as part of the Ambizione Italia for Schools Programme promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and Microsoft, met today in Milan with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and presented their initial prototypes developed with inclusive artificial intelligence apps.
“You need a keen mind to work with artificial intelligence,” is the slogan of the AI Course taken by over 12,000 Italian students and teachers. The course, which includes both traditional frontal lessons with interactive labs and on-line lessons, is part of Programme Ambizione Italia for Schools, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and Microsoft. The programme will allow 250,000 students and 20,000 teachers to learn about how technology is rapidly revolutionising how we learn, live and work.
Selene, Maria Teresa, Maria Giulia, Carolina, Francesco and Valentina are 15-17 years old. They are students at IIS Guglielmo Marconi in Civitavecchia (Rome), ISIS Leonardo Da Vinci in Poggiomarino (Naples) and IISS Ettore Majorana in Brindisi, the three schools selected from amongst 37 hubs testing the AI Programme in Italy. This morning, the three students met with Satya Nadella, CEO of the Microsoft Corporation, at the Microsoft Innovation Summit held at the Milan Bocconi University and presented their initial work to the CEO.
Are we sure that we always make the right choices? Who can help us modify habits that damage our planet? “Ecoassistant” is an artificial intelligence developed by the students in Naples that is based on automatic learning. It includes an environmental analyser, a chatbot and a series of functions allowing human-machine interaction. Using the data collected from sensors, Ecoassistant provides recommendations on the best behaviour to protect the environment and produce renewable energy. How can we instruct an artificial intelligence to solve real issues related to interaction and communication to improve the social lives of individuals? This was the objective of the students in Civitavecchia and Brindisi. The former developed “Easy Talk,” a device that listens to conversations, interprets the emotional state of the speaker and intervenes to facilitate interaction in case of misunderstandings. One of the project participants was a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome, who had first-hand experience of this type of issues. Another girl’s volunteering experience was the foundation for “Pablobot,” a painting robot developed by students in Brindisi that can draw and paint, interpreting the sentiments and emotions of those in front of it.
“The development of artificial intelligence will contribute to the growth of the Italian economy by creating 135,000 new jobs in ICT by next year. Programme “Ambizione Italia for Schools” will contribute to educating a new generation that will be ready to grasp the professional opportunities provided by new technology, but, above all, will have a critical conscience and a strong ethical and social drive,” explains Mirta Michilli, Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
“New digital trends such as artificial intelligence and robotics are creating new work places that risk remaining empty in Italy due to the lack of the necessary professional profiles. According to a Microsoft study, in the future, 65% of today’s students will work at professions that do not exist yet. Investing in advanced education is therefore fundamental. And this is the objective of Project “Ambizione Italia for Schools”: with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale we are integrating traditional lessons with AI and Robotics courses to allow students to acquire the functional and transversal abilities they will need in the future. The projects presented today to Satya Nadella reveal that we are on the right road!” explains Barbara Cominelli, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft Italy.
For further information
- Project Ambizione Italia for Schools
- Courses (pdf)
- Introductory Video
- On-line course
- Blog
- Participation Form
- Educational Hubs Map
- Student Projects
