With Ai personalised training for a new humanism

Ai is growing, investments are growing (an estimated one trillion euros by 2028 globally) and applications of artificial intelligence in all areas, including education and continuing education. In this field, new technology can do a lot, but on the condition that it always keeps the individual at the centre. "The extraordinary growth of artificial intelligence applications is there for all to see and this cannot fail to be reflected in the field of training as well. I often hear questions about training and Ai, but the great challenge we will have to face is of an unimaginable scale and we must be careful not to react like Plato who paradoxically put in writing an invective of Socrates against writing. A bit like those who today rail against Chat Gpt and then use it to write a text'. These are the words of Mario Rasetti, professor emeritus of theoretical physics at Turin Polytechnic and chairman of the Centai scientific committee. Words with which he opens a permanent focus on artificial intelligence, organised by Fondo For.Te. in collaboration with Il Sole 24Ore-Radiocor, which will also feature a full interview with Rasetti and various voices comparing notes on the subject. In the field of training, Rasetti continues, 'Ai can set itself the goal of a didactics that is customised to the individual learner, the individual. A didactics that knows how to grasp in people their best abilities, their motivations, the vision of life they would like to live, their perception of reality, giving them the best tools. Mine, as far as Ai applications are concerned, is a return, very strong, to a strong humanism'.

Artificial intelligence is also the protagonist of the challenges that the For.Te. Fund is preparing to face in the field of continuous training. The Fund now counts 135 thousand companies in the tertiary sector and 1.6 million workers, placing it at the top of the national panorama of interprofessional funds in the sector. Analysing the Italian context, the hunger for skills, and for digital skills, is particularly relevant. The figures of the latest ISTAT report for 2023 show a high gap between the EU27 countries, with a variation range of 55 percentage points. Our country ranks 23rd, some 10 points below the average. The highest share of employees with at least basic digital skills is to be found in information and communication services and in financial and insurance activities (around 80%), while the sectors lagging furthest behind are agriculture, forestry and fishing (32.5%) and construction (43.8%).

Faced with the need to bring Italy up to the training levels of European best practices and to bridge the 'mismatch' between labour supply and demand, the advantages of using 'Ai in training appear manifold. It will enable the creation of new multimedia teaching methodologies, usable full-time and tailored to individuals. New tools capable of adapting to learning capacities and optimising the effectiveness of individual pathways. It will make it possible to intervene further on the reduction of the timeframe related to the various investigations and controls, with the aim of further shortening the distance between the identification of needs and the delivery of training realised with the new tools.

Looking in particular at the activities of For.Te., it can be seen that today the Fund is already exploring the advantages of Ai, in support of member companies and their workers. A continuous commitment, which goes in the direction of simplification, especially with regard to a part of the controls and in all the phases that presuppose the documentary examination of the files, where this can allow human resources to be directed in the direction of valuable activities, such as technical assistance, and to significantly reduce the timeframes associated with the documentary verification activity.

On the training tools front, a reflection has also been underway for some time, which involved the institutions during the two editions of the National Forum on Continuing Training created by the Fund, on the need to adopt advanced multimedia tools to be used in asynchronous distance learning. An initial experimentation was launched in 2022, promoting a 'library' of multimedia training pills, which training bodies and companies can access. An experiment is planned for 2025, preparatory to a forthcoming manifestation of interest to be launched by the Fund in order to promote and expand the offer of quality training interventions that can be delivered asynchronously. As the Covid lesson taught, in a medium- and long-term vision, technological products and tools currently play an increasingly important role, having to respond to an increasing number of beneficiaries with insufficient resources and the need for continuous 'renewal' of skills. In perspective, this could also result in a reduction of training costs. In this context, the fund can act as a stimulus to training organisations; it should be emphasised that it is, in fact, the technicians who choose, when they apply for a plan, the methodologies and methods most suitable for each type of course. But the funds, for their part, can also make an important contribution to raising awareness among training organisations and companies.