AI4Progress – Education: Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

What does it mean to talk about the responsible use of artificial intelligence in education when theory meets the reality of the classroom?

This event brings together two perspectives that rarely share the same stage: that of a leading researcher studying what responsible AI should look like in education, and that of an Italian technology entrepreneur who is putting these ideas to the test by developing and bringing an AI-powered tool into Italian classrooms.

The discussion will move beyond theoretical questions to explore the practical realities of AI in education: How are teachers actually using these tools? Where do they work, and where do they reveal their limitations? What happens when technology leaves the research environment and enters a real classroom on a Monday morning?

The evening will also bring an important Italian perspective to the debate, creating a dialogue between international research on responsible AI and the experience of those developing and using these technologies within the Italian education system.

PROGRAM

6:00 PM – Institutional Remarks

6:05 PM – INTRODUCTION

Luciano Floridi – Director, Digital Ethics Center, Yale University

6:20 PM – PANEL

Julia Stoyanovich – Director, Center for Responsible AI, New York University

Pietro Agasi – Founder and CEO, Minerva Education AI

Moderator: Claudio Pagliara – Director, Italian Cultural Institute of New York

This is the first of four conferences curated by Luciano Floridi in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. Each conference addresses a crucial area for human progress.

Education: September 22, 6:00 PM – RSVP
Health: October 13, 6:00 PM – RSVP
Environment: October 29, 6:00 PM – RSVP
Business: November 9, 6:00 PM – RSVP

Artificial intelligence carries risks, some of them serious, which we do not intend to overlook; but history has shown that technological innovation cannot simply be halted, so the more productive question is how this technology can be governed and directed towards human progress rather than allowed to undermine it. Each evening therefore brings together two speakers with distinct – and sometimes contrasting – perspectives, in a conversation meant to be substantive, lively, and accessible to a general audience.

The format calls for Luciano Floridi to open each event with a fifteen-minute introduction to frame the topic. This is followed by a panel moderated by the Director of Italian Cultural Institute, Claudio Pagliara. The discussion will be followed by an extensive Q&A with the audience.

BIO

Luciano Floridi is the John K. Castle Professor in the Practice of Cognitive Science and the Founding Director of the Digital Ethics Center at Yale University. He is also a Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication in the Department of Legal Studies at the University of Bologna. Widely recognised as one of the most authoritative voices in contemporary philosophy, he is, according to Scopus, the most cited living philosopher. He pioneered the philosophy and ethics of information and has become a leading interpreter of the digital revolution, with foundational contributions to the normative frameworks of the digital society. His scholarly output exceeds 400 publications, spanning the philosophy of information, digital ethics, AI ethics, the philosophy of technology, and the history of philosophy, with many of his works translated worldwide. His recent books include The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (Oxford University Press, 2023) and The Green and the Blue: Naive Ideas to Improve Politics in the Digital Age (Wiley, 2023). Artificial Agency: Explorations of a Post-AI Culture (Wiley) and Encounters: An Experiment in Distant Writing (Columbia University Press) are forthcoming in 2027. In 2022, he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his contributions to philosophy.

Julia Stoyanovich —  Professor of Computer Science and Data Science at New York University, where she directs the Center for Responsible AI and serves as Associate Dean of AI Initiatives. Her goal is to make “responsible AI” synonymous with “AI.” She pursues it through research, teaching, and technology policy, and by speaking about both the benefits and the harms of AI with everyone from legislators to library-goers.  She has testified before the U.S. Congress, co-created a comic book series on AI, and written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Le Monde. She is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor the U.S. government bestows on early-career researchers.  Human languages are her hobby: Italian is her fifth, and tonight’s audience is kindly asked to grade her on effort and not on the congiuntivo.

Pietro Agasi —  Co-Founder and CEO of Minerva Education AI, an Italian EdTech company developing AI tools for teachers. His work focuses on using artificial intelligence to make education more effective, creative, inclusive, and personalized.