RomeCup 2025, Enrico Pulcini interviews Professor Federica Pascucci
Rai journalist Enrico Pulcini, presenter and editor of Parlamento 2.0, a GR Parlamento program broadcast on Radio Rai, interviewed Federica Pascucci, associate professor of Automation at Roma Tre University and director of the Human-centered Cyber Physical Systems laboratory.
The journalist, always careful to investigate the effects of technology on people, from the point of view of collective well-being, asked questions about the future of human intelligence in relation to artificial intelligence, and even talked about the role of research in Italy. “We talk about AI today with enthusiasm, in the Greek sense of the term, that is, with amazement and wonder on the one hand, and fear on the other. Sometimes this second feeling prevails over the first, first of all because it is something new and this arouses mistrust. But AI is a technology, a tool, and as such it's up to us to know how to use it: even a smartphone can create barriers between close friends or family, or it can help people who are far away to communicate”, began the expert, explaining how her team at the Human-Centered Cyber Physical Systems laboratory is developing a monitoring and safeguarding system for road construction workers. “This system consists of a series of sensors and drones positioned in the construction site area and worn by the operators, who communicate with each other. The data collected is processed using AI to define the danger level of the scenarios and, based on the risk detected, feedback is sent to the operators, i.e. a vibration or a light signal”.
He spontaneously refers to RomeCup 2025: “As citizens, as an educating community, we have a duty today to guide young people towards technology. We must do this as a university, but also involving primary school students. This year we are collaborating with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS for the eighteenth edition of the RomeCup. We will put the productive world in contact with young people, creating a bridge that passes through the universities. Companies, start-ups and research centers will be protagonists of some events and will collaborate on the “Manifesto for collective action on artificial intelligence and robotics”. This is a strategic alliance aimed at promoting ten concrete actions for fair and inclusive technological development, which focuses on the talent of young people and combats inequality, exclusion and poverty. A year later, the Manifesto has gained new members and is becoming a platform for collaboration between businesses, institutions, academia and civil society,” continued Federica Pascucci.
