“I am absolutely convinced that it is necessary put the dialogue between men and women of science and institutions back at the centre on the other, particularly given the times we are facing.” These are the first words of the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the event “Science at the center of the State”, underway in Rome.
During the event, the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni meets the Italian Scientists Association (ISA) which brings together over 500 Top Scientists and university professors who present the «Science Manifesto». The document addresses some of the main topics of interest of our time.
“We need an alliance between science and politics”
“It is a complex phase that requires study and analysis, an alliance between science and institutions is needed”, continued the prime minister. “LDissemination is one of the many themes that science and politics have in common, complex subjects which, if they cannot be made clear to the majority, remain confined to their own sphere. The ability to disseminate information in these matters is very important.”
“If on the one hand politics, without the support and competence of scientists, risks falling into demagogy, on the other the technical-scientific apparatus, without a political order and ethical principles, risks falling into technocracy. For To avoid these risks, science and politics must be allies to pursue the common good”, continued Meloni.
“Not everything that is technically possible is ethically permissible. In the film ‘Oppenheimer’ there are issues that run through the life of every scientist: the ambition for knowledge but also the questions about the use of power, the anguish of responsibility that science brings with it. These are problems that the scientist cannot or must face alone but with those who are responsible for the choices”, said the Prime Minister.
“Let’s remember the debate on the cloning of Dolly the sheep: science said it was possible but politics set rules, said no to human cloning. It has happened in the past and it will happen again,” she concluded.
Artificial Intelligence: risk that man is no longer at the center
Meloni also spoke on the topic of artificial intelligence and the risks it entails.
“Generative artificial intelligence is opening up scenarios that we are called to deal with much faster than we are doing today: we were used to progress that had the aim of using human skills, but that process focused on the replacement of physical work and this allowed man to elevate himself. Today it risks no longer being like this: what can be replaced today is the intellect and man risks finding himself in a world in which he is no longer at the centre”, he continued the prime minister.
“Sometimes I have the impression that, without realizing it, we are trading our freedom for convenience: when we realize it it could be too late. I don’t want to say that this technology is negative but that without adequate processes, which are political, to judge those risks we risk arriving too late”, he added.
The event, moderated by journalist Monica Maggioni, is divided into two sessions. Present were the ISA President Antonio Felice Uricchio and the paleontologist, science communicator and journalist Alberto Angela. Closing is the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to whom ISA will deliver the «Science Manifesto».
The second session features the Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini, the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, the President ISA Uricchio and the Top Scientist Maria Irene Bellini, awarded in 2022 with the prize reserved for the 40 best surgeons under 40 at worldwide by the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS).