Bari is at the ABCD, the event for those who dream of living and working (d)in the South

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To paraphrase an old Cccp song, the issue of work in Southern Italy is neither a question of quality nor a formality: it is a question of identity. In this sense, the choices made at a territorial level in recent years seem to have rewarded Puglia first and foremost, with an economy that in 2023 remains growing for the third consecutive year and the transversal refrain of innovation that holds an increasingly prominent position also in the leading sectors of tourism and agriculture.

With 26 thousand more employed compared to 2022 (source Istat), an export value of 10.155 billion euros and the city of Bari counted among the most innovative in Italy for Mimit, this region has become decidedly attractive for large companies and multinationals. To delve deeper into these themes, «ABCD», an acronym for A Bari Capitale Digitale, is arriving in the Apulian capital on 12 and 13 April, the event co-organized with the Puglia Region and dedicated to «Who dreams of living and working ( d) to the South”. Focused precisely on topics such as southworking, economics, social marketing and sustainability, the two-day event created in 2021 by the Bari-based economist Nicolò Andreula intends to help dialogue and reflection between small and large companies, startuppers, young professionals, students and institutions. The locations, all very central and identified in the so-called contemporary hub of Bari, will therefore become a space for discussion to consolidate and reaffirm how the South is finding its way towards an idea of ​​fully identifying professionalization.

For years, in fact, Puglia itself has focused on the strength of its uniqueness, based on a strong, courageously Southern thought devoted to the Adriatic perspective. But how can digital ethics, based on dynamism and speed, integrate with this specific type of identity? The first responder is Mariarosaria Taddeo, full professor at the Oxford Internet Institute and the Technology Fellow Alan Turing Institute in London, who will speak on ABCD with a k-note speech entitled Lethics of technology for the design of digital societies. «Digital ethics», explains the teacher, «has the objective of aligning the design, development and use of digital technologies as much as possible with the values ​​underlying liberal democracies and human rights. From this perspective, dynamism and speed are not necessarily desirable if they are to the detriment of these values. It is difficult to stereotype age-old cultures like those that characterize Southern Italy in one or two adjectives, but if I really had to do it I would say that among these there are “effective” and “tenacious”. To the extent that with little rhetoric and a lot of commitment, in the South they often achieve concrete, ambitious and long-lasting objectives. I’m thinking for example of the Apple Academy in Naples. A more tenacious and determined culture is more desirable than the “Fail often, fail fast” that we have heard so much overseas.”

The need for integration with the times and ways of a territory are therefore at the center of today’s consideration, also the result of an essential harmonization with ethical and sustainable growth. «The cultural enterprise, founded on ethics and humanism, can certainly thrive even in a context dominated by globalization, artificial intelligence and dematerialization», comments Andreula. «These elements must not be seen as obstacles, but rather as opportunities to strengthen the ethical dimension of companies. For example, globalization offers the possibility of reaching new markets for cultural products, while artificial intelligence can be used to improve the production and distribution of cultural content. Dematerialisation, on the other hand, can favor the diffusion of ideas and cultural values ​​without physical boundaries, to the advantage of a return of value also on the product which can thus be disconnected from the impetus of “fast”, “click and play”, “ready” consumption. to eat””.

Although it may appear like an obsolete topic in a digitalised society like today’s, the digital divide still remains a fundamental constant for setting work development strategies, especially when it comes to structural inequalities between North and South. «ABCD» also wants to insist on the democratic values, human rights and the environment at a time when the dynamics of hyperproduction appear in many ways unstoppable. «The opposition between profit and ethical values, like the opposition between governance and innovation, has proven counterproductive». Taddeo explains. «Enlightened entrepreneurs, from Olivetti onwards, are clear that the success of businesses depends on a sustainable profit and therefore on a profit that does not go to the detriment of companies. Ethics are central to our companies. This is even more true when considering digital and, in this specific case, artificial intelligence. These technologies can have consequences, positive and negative, that are very severe and sometimes difficult to predict. It is crucial that those who design, develop and use these technologies can count on ethical principles and guidelines that allow them to identify risks and opportunities as soon as possible to mitigate the former and seize the latter. In this sense, ethics can become a great ally of innovation.”