Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most promising technologies of our time. It allows you to save lives, make purchase forecasts and increase productivity in agriculture. This is not an exaggeration: AI already supports doctors in identifying tumors and other diseases, thus allowing to extend human life. In the future it could be used to predict and locate earthquakes. Italian startups already provide AI-based services, such as the detection of fraud in transactions. AI can benefit society as a whole, in all sectors, both in everyday life and in people's work. This naturally also applies to the mission of governments and public administrations, which is the focus of this white paper published by the Agency for Digital Italy. This text identifies some main areas where Artificial Intelligence can help: in health, education and judicial systems; in public employment and security. This book provides a positive look at how governments, their agencies and public administrations can better serve both people and businesses by improving public services and citizen satisfaction. Most of the objectives we can achieve thanks to a good use of Artificial intelligence in Public Administration coincides with the work that the European Commission is doing to promote the development of e-government and the digitization of public services as an integral part of the construction of the Digital Single Market: save time and public money by providing better public services; make services interoperable between states by increasing efficiency and improving transparency; bring people closer to their governments, involving them more in the process decision making. The development and promotion of Artificial Intelligence must be a European project and not just a national one. It is an opportunity that Europe, collectively, cannot hesitate tograsp firmly. We need of an open and inclusive debate involving all our countries, focusing on the right way to use these new technologies, on how to respect fundamental rights such as privacy, freedom, security and non-discrimination.