Immense economic change is upon us - labelled by some as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is changing the rules of how we drive economic, social and environmental resilience for our communities, cities and regions. Existing types of jobs are disappearing but new business models, new jobs and new delivery models are taking their place. As in previous industrial revolutions, the new digital technologies are at the heart of this change called digitization. The pressure to have the right type of digitization and innovation strategy is immense: however, just perceiving all this is not enough. We need to take action.

With Pieter Boorsma and Raffaele Gareri.

Until just a short time ago we were discussing smart and sustainable cities. But many questions arise: what will urban future look like in the post-pandemic scenario? Will we still need bold and unconventional visions? Can the large ‘new city’ projects (NEOM in the Arab world, Xiong’an in China, OCEANIX CITY presented in the UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda) represent realistic and replicable paradigms? Which city visions do these projects inspire? What are the main characteristics? What problems do their implementation pose?

Introduction by Pierfrancesco Maran, Councillor for Urban Planning, Green Areas and Agriculture of the Municipality of Milan.

The classification, analysis and forecasting of our personal choices and habits are increasingly entrusted to machines and algorithms. However, the impact of these automation processes is not the same for everyone. Regrettably, the same racist, misogynistic and homophobic stereotypes that are omnipresent in our daily lives are amplified by software and AI. Amongst these, the gender biases found in some technologies risk compromising the digital existence of half of the world's population, causing real damage and undermining civil rights. But why do some technologies tend to discriminate against women and what does that actually entail? How can an intersectional approach be integrated into AI development?

Ivana Bartoletti and Catherine D'Ignazio debate this issue, moderated by Diletta Huyskes. There will also be an address by documentary filmmaker Shalini Kantayya, author of ‘Coded Bias’, available exclusively for free on the MDW website from March 17th to 21st.

For this edition, Milano Digital Week presents an extensive cycle of Lectio Magistralis, with internationally-renowned speakers, which will touch upon the main topics.

The series of talks will be inaugurated on March 17th at 7:00 pm with Cass Sunstein, the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School, where he is founder and director of the Programme on Behavioural Economics and Public Policy. How does social change happen? When do social movements take off? With the help of behavioural economics and other disciplines, Sunstein helps us understand how society changes. 

On March 18th at 7:00 pm, Alec Ross, the American expert in technology policies, entrepreneur and author, will take the mic. He was Hilary Clinton’s Senior Advisor for Innovation during his tenure as Secretary of State and was also Coordinator for the Technology & Media Policy committee during Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008.
Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, Alec Ross returns to the content of his book ‘The Industries of our Future’, to respond to the question ‘What’s Next?’ regarding the upcoming scenario.

On March 19th at 7:00 pm, Ece Temelkuran, the Turkish writer, journalist and political commentator, will take us on a 7-step journey to explain how a democratic nation can lose itself and become a dictatorship.

Last but not least, Benjamín Labatut, Chilean writer and essayist, will close the series on March 20th at 7:00 pm. Labatut will bring an unpublished text inspired by his latest book ‘Quando abbiamo smesso di capire il mondo’ (When we stopped understanding the world).