Event
DoubleTree by Hilton Florence Metropole
Via del Cavallaccio, 36
50142 Florence
Italy
The world is going through a digital renaissance, and like previous industrial revolutions technological change has an impact on cultural change. But what does the new AI revolution mean for the arts? How will increased automation shape our conceptions of beauty in architecture, films, and painting.
Join New Direction, in cooperation with MEP Francesco Torselli, in Florence, 28th-30th May for a series of discussions on how the new technological revolution can lead to a renaissance of the creative arts.
Agenda
15:00
Opening Speeches
15:30
Panel 1
From the Renaissance to the Digital Era: Beauty as a Political Expression
This panel explores how ideals of beauty have shaped politics from the Renaissance to today’s protest aesthetics. It asks whether beauty can still unify civic life in an age of online fragmentation.
17:00
Panel 2
Art, Craftsmanship, Architecture
This conversation revisits the enduring relationship between artistic vision, skilled craftsmanship, and the built environment. It asks what is lost—and what might be regained—when speed, scale, and cost eclipse beauty and human touch.
19:00
Dinner
location: DoubleTree by Hilton
Reservation mandatory on eventbrite
10:00
Panel 3
Technology, Migration, and the Future of Work
This panel investigates how technological change and migration are reshaping labour markets and economic opportunity. With AI seen as a threat to conventional vocations, how can governments adapt to the changing demands of the labour market?
11:30
Panel 4
Smart Cities and Smart Citizen: Technology in Service of the Common Good
As urban environments become increasingly data-driven, this discussion examines how technology can genuinely serve citizens. The panel will look at the balance between efficiency and democratic accountability in the cities of tomorrow.
13:30
Lunch
location: DoubleTree by Hilton - Reservation mandatory on eventbrite
15:00
Visit Accademia Gallery of Florence and visit to Palazzo Vecchio
ONLY accessible by purchasing a ticket on eventbrite (General Admission + Accomodation)
17:00
Guided Tour of the City: Discovering Renaissance in motion
ONLY accessible by purchasing a ticket on eventbrite (General Admission + Accomodation)
21:00
Dinner at La Reggia Degli Etruschi
ONLY accessible by purchasing a ticket on eventbrite (General Admission + Accomodation)
10:00
Panel 5
Digital Renaissance: from the Renaissance to the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Drawing parallels between past and present revolutions in knowledge and creativity, this panel examines whether we are living through a new Renaissance driven by artificial intelligence. Or whether AI generated art spells the death of creativity.
12:00
Closing Speech