In collaboration with the Leonardo Foundation – Civilization of Machines. 

Roberto Battiston, Experimental Physicist, former President of ASI; Marco Casu, Researcher at the Leonardo Foundation – Civilization of Machines; Ginevra Leganza, Researcher at the Leonardo Foundation – Civilization of Machines; Massimiliano Nicolini, Director of R&D Department at Olitec – Olimaint; Luciano Violante, President of the Leonardo Foundation – Civilization of Machines. Moderated by Andrea Simoncini, Vice President of the Meeting per l’amicizia fra i popoli ETS, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Florence. 

“Hic sunt leones.” This is what the ancient cartographers wrote to indicate unknown lands where no one had set foot. The same could be said of the unknown land that is the metaverse for us today, or rather, virtual reality. The transition to web 3.0, virtual reality, and possible metaverses – not just Zuckerberg’s – from a two-dimensional perception (as we experience with computers and phones today) to a 3D experience (with headsets and wearables) are transformations that require us to ask what space there will be for humans in such a world. Under what conditions will this new world be an extension and enhancement of our capabilities, or will it represent the definitive capture of freedom? Luciano Violante, emeritus president of the Chamber of Deputies, has been questioning this future for many years through the research and experimentation conducted by the Leonardo Foundation, of which he is President. It is thanks to him that it is possible to organize a unique event in the panorama of debates and discussions on these topics at the Meeting. For the first time in the history of the Meeting, we will discuss the future and metaverses… within the metaverse! Through collaboration with Massimiliano Nicolini, director of the R&D Department of Olimaint, it will be possible – for those who wish – to participate in the meeting and the discussion within the Rimini Fair, attending in person but also experiencing the “life” in virtual reality by using headsets and creating personal avatars, interacting with others present and thus experiencing both positive possibilities and risks. Another well-known guest of the Meeting, Roberto Battiston, physicist, former President of the Italian Space Agency, scientist, intellectual, and protagonist of the Italian cultural debate, who recently opened a public discussion on the future of humans in these new technological scenarios, has been invited to dialogue in the metaverse with Luciano Violante and Massimiliano Nicolini.