Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Unimore protagonist at Smart Life Festival

Unimore will play a central role in the ninth edition of Smart Life Festival, the Festival of Digital Culture promoted by the Municipality of Modena, to be held from 26 to 29 September. With the theme “True, False, X”, this year's festival will explore the boundary between truth and fiction in the age of digital transition.

The University will take an active part in the event by offering, with the contribution of lecturers, researchers and students, in-depth studies on topical issues such as training in digital awareness, the relationship between artificial intelligence and sustainability, and the new frontiers of information technology, involving various university departments, research centres and museums.

As part of the Smart School segment initiatives that will anticipate the official opening of the festival, on Wednesday 25 September (11.00 a.m.), Prof. Thomas Casadei, lecturer in Philosophy of Law and director of CRID (Interdepartmental Research Centre on Discrimination and Vulnerability), will speak together with Valeria Barone and Claudia Severi (of the CRID Computer Workshop) at a meeting on digital awareness among young people, demonstrating the University's commitment to promoting a critical and responsible use of technologies. Closing the last day of the pre-festival (9.00 p.m., at the Fondazione Collegio San Carlo) will be a talk on the “Semantic Web and Linked Open Data”, a journey into knowledge, between true and false, with the participation of Luca Sandoni (Researcher at the Interdepartmental Research Centre on Digital Humanities - DHMoRe).

On Thursday 26 September (5.30 p.m. at MEMO Centro Educativo) there will be a talk entitled “Intelligent by nature - Plants and animals: builders of worlds and relationships”, in which Laura Arru (Researcher in Plant Physiology - Unimore) will participate. Accompanying the afternoon initiatives will be the workshop “Fantastic plants and animals, how to find them? Mimicry and cryptism as a survival strategy”, by experts from Unimore's Museum System and Botanical Garden.

In the evening (9.00 p.m. Chiesa di San Carlo), Prof. Rita Cucchiara, Director of the Centre for Research and Innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AIRI) at Unimore, will hold a talk on deepfakes and information during the inaugural meeting entitled “Truth Machines”. Flanked by experts such as journalist Gianni Riotta, she will discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence in journalism and the perception of truth.

Prof. Simone Calderara, lecturer in Computer Engineering, will be the protagonist on Friday 27 September (10.00 a.m. at Liceo Tassoni) of a talk dedicated to the students of Liceo Tassoni on the implications of artificial intelligence models in our lives, emphasising the importance of understanding these technologies for the future.

In the afternoon (3.45 p.m. in the Galleria Europa), a discussion on Ethics, privacy, security and AI for mobility and logistics will be held, involving Noemi Miniscalco (Research Associate - Unimore), Simone Scagliarini (Professor of Public Law Institutions - Unimore) and Paolo Burgio (Researcher Department of Physical, Computer and Mathematical Sciences - Unimore).

Also in the afternoon, two other appointments will see Unimore involved: one to talk about work in the times of HR Tech and AI recruiting (4 pm. 00 in Spazio F of the Modena Foundation), with Iacopo Senatori of the “Marco Biagi” Department of Economics who will provide an insight into the transformations in the world of work due to the use of artificial intelligence, the other dedicated to children and young people, with an immersion in the world of plants and animals, to learn about mimicry and crypticism as a survival strategy, in collaboration with Unimore's Museum System and Botanical Garden (4.30 p.m. at MEMO Multicentro Educativo).

In the context of the “European Research Night”, the evening of Friday 27 September (8.30 p.m.) at the Complesso San Geminiano will host the talk “Real food, Fake food”, with Federica Raffone of CRISA - Interdepartmental Research Centre on Food Safety, who will explore the theme of food falsifications, in an event followed by a tasting of Parmigiano Reggiano. At 10 pm at the Teatro della Fondazione Collegio San Carlo Interactive live performance, free admission, in collaboration with the Unimore Department of Studies on Language and Culture.

Saturday 28 September will begin with the talk “Promoting health through community actions” (10 a.m. at the Teatro Fondazione Collegio San Carlo), in cooperation with the Modena Hospital-University; this will be followed by the workshop “Mobility of the future: between perception, trust and technological innovation” (10 a.m. Europa Gallery), with Paolo Burgio (Researcher Department of Physical, Computer and Mathematical Sciences) and the workshop “Fantastic plants and animals, how to find them?” (10 a.m. at MEMO) in cooperation with the Museum System and Botanical Garden.

In the afternoon (6 p.m. at the Teatro Fondazione Collegio San Carlo), Prof. Vittorio Iervese, Unimore lecturer in Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes, will offer an analysis of contemporary politics with the talk “The Final Battle. Conflicts and conspiracies in Trump's America”, addressing the theme of conspiracies and their impact on society and public discourse.

On the closing day of the Festival, Sunday 29 September, Meteorites, minerals, gems and fossils between illusion, technology and reality will be discussed in the talk “Is truth carved in stone?”, in collaboration with he Museum System and Botanical Garden (10 a.m. at the Biblioteca Antica della Fondazione Collegio San Carlo), with the participation of Milena Bertacchini (Head of Gemstone University Museum, Museum System and Botanical Garden - Unimore), Giovanna Menziani (Paleontology Museum Officer, Museum System and Botanical Garden - Unimore) and Federica D'Andrea (Graduate student of the Master’s Degree Programme in Didactics and Communication of Science).

The workshop “Fantastic plants and animals” (11.30 a.m. Fondazione Collegio San Carlo) will also continue, while the series of initiatives involving Unimore will close with the talk “Unique and inseparable” (4 p.m. Teatro Fondazione Collegio San Carlo), on the invisible connections between man, nature and machines, in collaboration with the Department of of Studies on Language and Culture, with the participation of Alessandra Gribaldo (Professor of Cultural Anthropology - Unimore).

From Friday to Sunday there will also be live streaming and talks open to the public, dedicated to the future of digital in contemporary society by Radio FSC-Unimore, which, thanks to the collaboration with Fondazione di Modena, is the voice - live - of Smart Life Festival 2024.

Categorie: Notizie_eng