"Beyond the Prompt" is the new tech salon exploring the real-world and philosophical implications of the digital revolution, featuring distinguished guests from the scientific and academic world
Milan, September 9, 2026 – Is artificial intelligence really intelligent? Is it making us more stupid? Will it change work forever? These are some of the questions that "Beyond the Prompt – The tech salon that challenges what you thought you knew about AI" will seek to answer. This new series of free events on the theme of artificial intelligence will take place starting from 15 September at STEP FuturAbility District, the technological space dedicated to science outreac located in Piazza Adriano Olivetti 1, Milan.
Five evenings, scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm, in which Federico Cabitza – Associate Professor of Human-Machine Interaction and Decision Support at the University of Milan-Bicocca, member of STEP's scientific committee and Director of the Center for Digital Health and Wellbeing at the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) in Trento – and Federico Cella – journalist at Corriere della Sera and member of STEP's scientific committee – will engage in conversation with distinguished guests to explore, together with the audience, the real-world and philosophical implications of the ongoing digital revolution.
The calendar
The first event takes place on Tuesday 15 September and is entitled "Is AI intelligent?", featuring Nello Cristianini, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bath, United Kingdom, and Viola Schiaffonati, Full Professor of Philosophy of Science at the Politecnico di Milano. The event will explore the very nature of generative AI, which operates on a statistical basis, and what it means to think in an age of increasingly sophisticated algorithms.
The second event, entitled "Is AI making us stupid?" and scheduled for 21 October, will feature Cosimo Accoto, tech philosopher and academic, author of several essays, and Stefano Triberti, Associate Professor of General Psychology at Pegaso University. The debate will address the phenomenon of "cognitive delegation" and how to maintain a conscious and critical relationship with these tools, without giving up their benefits.
"Is AI conscious?" is the title of the third event, scheduled for 26 January 2027, with Paolo Riva, Associate Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Milan-Bicocca, and Giorgio Vallortigara, Professor of Neuroscience at the Centre for Mind-Brain Sciences of the University of Trento. This event tackles one of the most fascinating and unsettling questions: does AI possess a form of consciousness? And how could we recognise it if we encountered it?
On 23 February 2027, the fourth event will take place, entitled "Can AI be a person?", with guests Brando Benifei, Italian Member of the European Parliament serving his third term, and Simona Cacace, Associate Professor of Private Law at the Department of Law of the University of Brescia, exploring the boundaries of law and personhood in the digital age.
The fifth and final event, scheduled for 9 March and entitled "Is AI making us poor?", addresses the concrete consequences of AI on society and the world of work, from economic inequalities to the policies needed to ensure a fair and inclusive transition. The guests will be: Teresa Numerico, Associate Professor of Philosophy of Science at Roma Tre University, and Ivana Pais, economic sociologist, who teaches at the Faculty of Economics of the Catholic University.
The events are free of charge with mandatory booking, and will be broadcast via live streaming on the Corriere della Sera website.
STEP FuturAbility District
STEP FuturAbility District is a technological space dedicated to science outreach, where visitors can experience digital transformation firsthand. STEP FuturAbility District is located in Milan, in Piazza Adriano Olivetti 1. Since its opening in late May 2022, more than 120,000 people have so far taken part, in various capacities, in the scientific activities offered by STEP: workshops and talks, educational activities for schools, Sunday laboratories dedicated to children and their families (Sunday@STEP), and conversations bridging cinema and the future (Tech si Gira!).
The constant updating of content and technologies at STEP is made possible thanks to the support of Fastweb + Vodafone and all of STEP's Partners: Autostrade per l'Italia as Innovation Infrastructure Partner, BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG) as Knowledge Partner, Bracco as Scientific Partner, Trenord as Mobility Partner, IMCD as Technology Innovation Lab Partner, OPPO and NTT DATA as Technological Partners, Wallife as Insurance Partner and CairoRCSMedia as Media Partner. STEP can also count on the valuable support of the Digital Innovation Observatories of the School of Management at the Politecnico di Milano and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).
"Tech, si gira!", the series of cult films addressing the most topical themes related to technological evolution, is produced with the support of NTT DATA; the special Sunday@STEP programme is dedicated to families with the support of Accenture.
STEP is an initiative by Fastweb + Vodafone and receives each year the Patronage of the City of Milan, which has recognised its mission and its impact on the local community.
Further information is available on the website www.steptothefuture.it