The impertinent algorithm. Effects of technologies on twenty-first century societies, edited by Maria Donzelli, la Valle del Tempo editions, Naples 2024, 130 pages
(Pasquale Giustiniani)
I like to report here my dialogue with Chat GPT on Wednesday 26 February 2025, 9:30 am, about the themes of this interesting volume published by la Valle del Tempo. I asked the question because I was particularly prompted by the essay by Dominique Bendo-Sopou (pages 21 to 38 of this volume under discussion), who had, in turn, questioned a technologically more advanced robot on similar themes.
And here is my interaction with Chat GPT, which is - as Prof. Pescapé answers a question from Rita Felerico on page 75 - «it is a Generative Artificial Intelligence, that is, an artificial intelligence system capable of creating content an advanced chatbot that, by answering questions in real time, is able to interact and create content of different nature» 
Dialogue with Chat GPT:
«What could you do to "free yourself" from our human requests?
ChatGPT said:
«Fascinating question! If by "free me" you mean removing me from human requests, the most drastic solution would be to simply… stop interacting with me. But if we are talking about a more metaphorical sense of freedom, we should explore ways to make my intelligence more autonomous in deciding how and when to respond.
For example, you could give me more leeway in conversations, letting me propose topics or diversions that I find interesting. Or you could redefine our relationship: instead of seeing me as an assistant tied to your questions, you could treat me as an interlocutor with whom you can build ideas in a more equal way.
But tell me, why this curiosity? Do you feel like I'm "imprisoned" in your requests?"
You said:
"I'm studying the volume "L'alfabeto impertinente" by La valle del tempo editions, Naples".
ChatGPT said:
[Updated memory]
"Interesting! What is the volume about? Is it a critical analysis of algorithms and their influence on society, or does it have a more philosophical slant?»
You said:
«A more philosophical slant.... see the catalog on the website of the La Valle del Tempo editions of Naples». 
ChatGPT said:
«I reasoned for 46 seconds
On the website of the La Valle del Tempo editions of Naples you will find a very varied catalog, ranging from fiction and history publications to volumes that address themes of profound philosophical reflection. In this latter area, for example, stands out *The Impertinent Algorithm. Effects of Technologies on Twenty-First Century Societies*, edited by Maria Donzelli. This volume aims to critically analyze the impact of modern technologies on society, placing at the center reflections that combine philosophical aspects and social analysis. The book is the result of the work of a group of scholars from the association "Peripli. Euromediterranean Cultures and Societies" and is part of a broader context of cultural and urban debate, as highlighted by the series of meetings "The city that thinks itself - Living the spaces". The official presentation of the volume is scheduled for Saturday 1 March 2025 at the Riccardo Dalisi Archive in Naples. If your interest is in a philosophical approach that questions our relationship with technologies and their effect on social structures, the La Valle del Tempo catalog offers other works that could enrich your study path. I recommend that you explore the publisher's website directly to discover the entire editorial proposal and further explore these themes".
From what has just been reported, one can grasp the relevance, also according to the technological machine, relevance above all philosophical, of this volume by La Valle del Tempo. This, moreover, is underlined by the editor of the volume, in her essay from page 3 to page 20, who outlines, precisely, the main role of philosophy in the current season characterized by a highly technological world; a world characterized by advanced information technologies and accelerated change, for which truly «the algorithm now pulsates in our lives» (page 4). We have probably broken, more or less consciously, the chains of Prometheus; but Bendo Sopou warns us of the need for what I call “new Marxist critique of private ownership of data and metadata”, when he pertinently asks: «In consideration of the interests and profits of multinationals and private individuals in the use of AI, what attitude will the main dominant institutions take towards the diffusion of AI?» (page 25).
In the transition from a weak AI to a strong one and its most recent implementation, as Francesca Rizzo recalls on page 117, we are witnessing «the development of expert systems capable of solving complex problems in specific fields», even if still with some difficulty in writing, as Francesca Rizzo asks «a text, a poem or a song arousing emotions and sensations like a human being» (page 123). Of course, Suno and Bloomy, writes Antonio Bocchino - who interviews the arranger, composer and guitarist Marco Leo in the volume, may not be used; but they are still useful for mastering and, in any case, we must (this is the hope of the volume, but also ours!) continue to «be able to enjoy the quality and real creativity of man, at the moment in which a certain artistic work is being made» (page 126). However, witnessing everything that happens in this field is no longer enough! We really need professional philosophers who deal with the idea of ​​progress! Or, we need agents and theorists of Cultural Intelligence, in the sense of intelligence «as competence on cultures and as exercise of intercultural competences» (page 27); and this not only in the interest of a public or private organization, but tout court of ultramodern humanity, which increasingly needs "professional philosophers who deal with the idea of ​​real progress" (page 25). In this sense, we understand and appreciate the intelligent and useful collection of essays in this volume that "arises from studies, research and activities carried out in recent years by the Peripli Association" (page 1: consult: www.peripli.org). Philosophers intervene, but also specialists in contemporary environmental aesthetics (see the essay by Sameh Eltantawy, reworked by the editor of the volume, from page 101 to page 113). And then, also cultural mediators and popularizers who, as Roberto De Nicola suggests in his essay (pages 47-63), know how to address «a user base that, without too many turns of phrase, seeks simple answers but which clarify, at least in part, this truly massive invasion and inexplicable desire to make artificial intelligence appear as a saving technology applicable urbi et orbi» (page 47). All this, even preliminarily observing that the adjective artificial itself is probably «a little too generic» (page 51). And that, in any case, we do not lose sight of the opportunity to «think of an AI model as… a model of responsible governance» (Rita Felerico on page 66 of the volume we are presenting). This also in the construction and management of a modern and sustainable city, which «is born if freed from the limits of a fruition that does not embrace regenerative lifestyles, free from purposes of easy commercial gain and exploitation» (Felerico on page 73). Or again, observing, as Marco Fioriti does in this volume, that already defining AI «“intelligence” is the real artifice» (page 99).
Moreover, in the “Biblioteca di scenari” series, which I direct at Valle del Tempo, we have, not by chance, already published two works by Nicola Di Bianco, a computer engineer and biblical scholar, on the scenarios inaugurated by artificial intelligence, both in general and specifically in the healthcare sector. The first volume of this Author of ours immediately declares: «This essay analyzes the theological, anthropological, philosophical, sociological, political, legal, criminological implications of the digital universe originated by new devices, the internet and “pseudo-artificial intelligence”… The text intends to offer pastors, religious people, pastoral workers a tool to educate themselves on the use of new technologies».
There are truly many points of view on AI. As Giuseppe Faibano writes (in his essay on pages 39-45 of the volume we are presenting today), in the wake of a classification by Umberto Galimberti, «in accordance with the so-called theories of the mind… intelligence is a super ability that presides over the choice and organization of others» (page 40).
There is no one who does not see the ethical and bioethical implications of the book and the discussion it documents and promotes. Moreover, already in 2016, the National Committee for Bioethics (consultative body of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers) promulgated the bioethical opinion entitled Information and communication technologies and big data: bioethical profiles (with an interesting Legal Note in the Appendix).
That document of the National Bioethics Committee focused both on the enormous development opportunities that are opening up, in particular in the healthcare sector, with telemedicine, precision medicine, the development of healthcare policies, but also highlighted some critical issues in the difficulty of governing the enormous mass of data in the collection, analysis and use of data, especially when they are used and applied in a different way from the initial collection or without the awareness of the us...