The Role of AI and Startups in the Evolution of Economy and Society
Politecnico di Milano, MIT, and PoliHub, in partnership with MADE Competence Center Industry 4.0, are set to engage in a comprehensive discussion on the profound impact of AI and technology transfer, poised to shape the future of industry, markets, and, ultimately, society.
As we stand on the cusp of a new era, the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and enterprise operations promises to usher in a wave of transformative disruptions, often guided by trailblazing startups. This Symposium aims to explore the far-reaching effects of AI on the future of intelligent enterprises, examining the strategies, challenges, and opportunities that emerge as organizations navigate this unprecedented shift.
The symposium will explore the latest advancements in AI technologies, showcasing real-world applications from both Politecnico di Milano and MIT, involving faculty and startups. Attendees will acquire insights into the economic implications of AI, gain an understanding of the technology transfer process from academia and technology venturing, fostering innovation, and driving economic impact.
Moreover, the Symposium will serve as a dynamic platform for industry leaders and professionals from diverse backgrounds to engage in a thought-provoking dialogue concerning the future of the Intelligent Enterprise. By promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange, our objective is to empower organizations to fully harness the potential of AI-driven disruption, ensuring a future where intelligence, innovation, and ethics converge to redefine the enterprise landscape.
Online registration is closed. Walk-in registration is available on-site.
Klaus Schleicher joined the Office of Corporate Relations in 2013. He has a Global Operations and Technology background that has delivered rapid profitable growth in the imaging systems, speech recognition, IT security and consulting, digital printing & media industries. He has executive experience in Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Strategy and Business Development and has held senior positions at Universal Wilde, Presstek Inc., Consul Risk Management B.V. (IBM), Lernout & Hauspie (Nuance), Agfa (Bayer Corp.) and Honeywell Inc. He holds a Master Degree in Computer Science and Engineering, from the Technical University of Giessen in Germany.
Enrico Deluchi is the CEO of PoliHub.
Marco Taisch is the President of MADE Competence Center on Industry 4.0 and a co-founder of Miraitek, a spin-off of Politecnico di Milano on Industry 4.0.
Taisch is also a full professor of the Department of Economics, Management, and Industrial Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), where he teaches Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing Systems and Operations Management. He is one of the coordinators of the Manufacturing Group of the School of Management, composed of around 40 researchers, working in the fields of Smart and digitized manufacturing, Circular Manufacturing, Energy Efficient Manufacturing, Sustainable Mass Customization, Lean Product and Service Design, Product Data Modeling, Internet of Things, Internet of Services and CyberPhysical Systems. Over the years, the group established important industrial collaborations with companies such as Bosch, COMAU, Dassault Systémes, FCA, IBM, SAP, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Whirlpool, etc. Since 2002, he has been particularly dedicated to the study of technological trends by carrying out technological roadmaps and studies of Technology's foresight on Manufacturing for the European Commission. He is a member of the Board of EFFRA (the European Factories of the Future Public Private Partnership), of the Board of the Italian Cluster of the Intelligent Factory, and of the Board of the Lombardy Regional (cluster of Intelligent Factory). He is a co-founder and the Scientific Chairman of the World Manufacturing Foundation, which organizes the World Manufacturing Forum, the global event for defining the manufacturing agenda. He had been involved in the Advisory Board of the National Industry 4.0 Plan, coordinated by the Ministry of Industry and Economic Development of Italy.
Explore the innovative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the manufacturing landscape. From predictive maintenance to intelligent automation, discover how AI technologies are revolutionizing processes, optimizing efficiency, and paving the way for a new era of manufacturing excellence.
Cordellia holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pretoria. Her extensive career journey includes roles as a Licensing Officer for Engineering & Physical Sciences at The Ohio State University and as the R&D Director at the HySA Systems Centre of Competence at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. Cordellia has worked across diverse sectors, including the private and public sectors, as well as in the energy and petrochemical industries. Her international experience extends to consultancy work, where she supported manufacturing companies in new product development, formulations, troubleshooting, and commissioning of new plants.
Cordellia is a staunch advocate for sustainable development, with a particular focus on the pivotal role of science and technology in combating climate change through the adoption of clean energy technologies, along with carbon capture, storage, and utilization solutions.
Chloe Holzinger is Director of Strategic Partnerships at Engine Ventures, to which she brings her experience working in and around the global battery industry. Prior to joining Engine Ventures, Chloe held market research positions at IHS Markit and Lux Research, where she advised clients on the global Li-ion battery supply chain, the battery systems powering the e-mobility and energy transition, and the startups developing these next-generation technologies. She also worked as a mechanical engineer at aluminum-water battery developer Open Water Power, where she co-invented the company's static cell system and built prototypes for US defense contract milestones, leading to the company's acquisition by L3 Technologies. Chloe holds an M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a B.S. in Marine Chemistry from Eckerd College.
Catarina has been working with the Cambridge/Boston startup ecosystem for over 10 years and joined Corporate Relations with a solid network in the innovation and entrepreneurial community. Prior to MIT, she was part of the team that designed and launched the startup accelerator IUL MIT Portugal, which was later rebranded as Building Global Innovators. She was based in Lisbon and worked in direct relation with the Cambridge team. She held positions including Operations Coordinator, Program Manager, and Business Developer. The accelerator soon achieved steady growth in large part due to the partnerships that Catarina led with regional and global startup ecosystems. After that, she worked at NECEC, leading a program that connects cleantech startups and industry. In this role, she developed and built a pipeline of startups and forged strong relationships with both domestic and European companies. She has also held positions in Portugal and France, including at Saboaria e Perfumaria Confiança and L’Oréal as Technical Director and Pharmacist. Catarina earned her bachelor's in chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences in Portugal. She went on to earn her Master of Engineering for Health and Medicines in France.
Markus Gürster is the Founder and CEO of Montblanc. Their AI-powered software platform enables factories to become Smart Factories, boosting productivity and efficiency while saving costs and energy. Markus holds a PhD from MIT and has done extensive research on maturing AI from the lab to industry.
Yudong Cao has extensive experience in the field of quantum computing and generative AI. Serving as the co-founder and CTO of Zapata AI, he has been instrumental in developing and deploying generative AI software that offers computational advantages to enterprises globally. His educational foundation includes a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University, equipping him with knowledge in physics, mathematical modeling, and machine learning. This background supports his work on Zapata's quantum software platform, which is designed for integration with various quantum hardware providers and cloud services. In addition to his industry contributions, Yudong has published research papers and patents on topics like quantum algorithms, error correction, and machine learning. His academic endeavors are complemented by a CTO program he recently completed at The Wharton School.
Tommaso Zennaro is a product designer at Pendulum. He has spent most of his career crafting user experiences for the web. With almost ten years of experience, he had the chance to work with many different clients and industries, ranging from fintechs to luxury brands, tech and food and beverage companies. His previous work experience was in a data visualization boutique agency, where he crafted data-driven experiences, and in consulting, where he got the chance to expand his craft in many omnichannel projects. His degrees in Industrial Design and Editorial Graphic Design help him tackle problems with a "form follows function" approach.
Anuraag Singh is a Fellow of MIT System Design and Management. He is a part of the MIT Work of the Future TaskForce. He worked for Honda R&D Japan in Tokyo at Think Lab, which helped create a long-term strategy for the company. After completing his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at IIT Delhi, he joined Honda as an automotive interior designer at the Honda R&D automobile headquarters. While at the Department of Science &Technology Center for Policy Research, he did innovation policy research, particularly innovation assessment and incubators, for the Government of India.
Devavrat successfully combines academia and entrepreneurship. He is a professor and a director of Statistics and Data Science Center at MIT. He co-founded Celect, a predictive analytics platform for retailers, which he sold to Nike. Devavrat holds a Bachelor's and PhD in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology and Stanford University, respectively.
Devavrat Shah is Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of AI and Decisions at MIT where he is currently the faculty director of Deshpande Center for Technology Innovation as well as founding director of Statistics and Data Science Center. His research focuses on algorithms for Statistics and Machine Learning. He is a Kavli Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, distinguished alumni of his alma mater IIT Bombay. Previously he co-founded retail analytics start-up Celect which is now part of Nike since 2019. Currently, he is focused on making AI functionalities accessible. Towards that, he co-founded Ikigai Labs in 2019 with the mission of enabling the use of AI with the ease of spreadsheets.
In this session, we'll discuss AI integration in enterprise workflows, combining business imperatives, the urgency of evolving data landscapes, and advanced AI solutions. Despite the transformative potential of AI, exemplified by ChatGPT, a staggering 85% of AI projects fail due to a lack of strategic approach.
Professor Shah's presentation aims to address this gap in three parts:
Professor Shah will provide a balanced view, combining insights and real-world examples to demonstrate how AI can be pragmatically and successfully incorporated into enterprise operations, not as a one-size-fits-all solution, but as a versatile technology that can significantly enhance business processes and decision-making.
Sergio M. Savaresi received the M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (Politecnico di Milano, 1992), the Ph.D. in Systems and Control Engineering (Politecnico di Milano, 1996), and the M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics (Catholic University, Brescia, 2000). After the Ph.D., he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey&Co, Milan Office. He has been a Full Professor in Automatic Control at Politecnico di Milano since 2006. He is Deputy Director and Chair of the Systems & Control Section of the Department of Electronics, Computer Sciences and Bioengineering (DEIB), Politecnico di Milano. He is the author of more than 500 scientific publications. His main interests are in the areas of vehicle control, automotive systems, data analysis and system identification, non-linear control theory, and control applications, with a special focus on smart mobility. He has been a manager and technical leader of more than 400 research projects cooperating with private companies. He is a co-founder of 8 high-tech startup companies.
The convergence of AI and mobility solutions has catalyzed a paradigm shift in the automotive industry, paving the way for innovative approaches to transportation. This presentation explores the transformative potential of autonomous racing as a catalyst for the development of novel mobility models. Drawing from experiences within the AI-driven mobility landscape, the focus will be on the case study of PoliMove, a pioneering initiative at the intersection of artificial intelligence and racing dynamics.
Daniele Panfilo is the CEO and co-founder of Aindo, a pioneering synthetic data company. By providing fully artificial yet highly realistic data, Aindo paves the way for fair and responsible AI innovation. Daniele holds a Ph.D. in generative Artificial Intelligence and has extensive professional experience in the healthcare and insurance sectors.
Mattia Dalla Piazza is a cybersecurity expert. With over 15 years in IT, he has held key roles, including leading a System Engineering Centre of Excellence at UniCredit Bank and serving as an International IT Manager at IBM. His expertise also includes managing data centers for a NASDAQ-listed company as a System Engineer.
Equixly offers a SaaS platform enhancing API security in software development life cycles through ML-driven automated attacks and predictive remediation. It aids developers in creating secure applications, reducing bug-fix costs, and scaling penetration tests, thereby advancing an organization's API security maturity.
Nicolas Pantaleo specialized in Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence while completing his Master's in Computer Science. Before moving to iGenius, he worked as a Data Science Consultant at Accenture and then as an AI Solution Architect at A2A.
iGenius is an AI company on a mission to make data human with Crystal, our GPT for Numbers. By using their private AI brain, everyone in the business can access data in a simple way and make decisions in real-time, just like speaking with a colleague.
Stefano Carnier is a co-founder and senior member of the AS.CAR.I core technical team. Stefano holds a PhD in information technology from Politecnico di Milano. He actively contributed to multiple university-industry research and development projects focused on autonomous driving and vehicle dynamics. He is a former team leader of PoliMOVE autonomous racing team, competing in the Indy Autonomous Challenge.
AS.CAR.I is developing an advanced car intelligence to drive any vehicle in the most challenging conditions, enhancing safety and performance for the human driver.
Lorenzo Benedetti spent his Ph.D. between MIT and Politecnico di Milano working on projects about structural health monitoring of bridges. Leveraging his research, he co-founded and became the CEO of Displaid, whose integrated solution for scalable monitoring of bridges enables predictive maintenance thanks to AI and edge computing.
Roberto Rigobon is the Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management and a Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the Census Bureau’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and a visiting professor at IESA. Roberto is a Venezuelan economist whose areas of research are international economics, monetary economics, and development economics.
Roberto focuses on the causes of balance-of-payments crises, financial crises, and the propagation of them across countries—the phenomenon that has been identified in the literature as contagion. Currently, he studies properties of international pricing practices, trying to produce alternative measures of inflation. He is one of the two founding members of the Billion Prices Project and a co-founder of PriceStats.
Roberto joined the business school in 1997 and has won both the “Teacher of the Year” award and the “Excellence in Teaching” award at MIT three times. He received his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1997, an MBA from IESA (Venezuela) in 1991, and his BS in Electrical Engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) in 1984.
The integration of machine learning and econometric methods in credit assessment has revolutionized the loan application evaluation process, mitigating subjectivity. However, reliance on historical financial data introduces biases, reinforcing discrimination based on attributes like race, gender, and sexual orientation. This speech presents a systematic literature review encompassing research settings, discrimination theories, legal frameworks, fairness metrics, issues, solutions, and future challenges. Analyzing 78 papers from major databases, our meta-analysis reveals a focus on Computer Science, Law, and Economics perspectives, particularly in the financial sector. While researchers address direct discrimination through algorithmic fairness, the study highlights a critical gap in addressing structural discrimination, signaling avenues for future research.