Home Forums Silicon Valley Study Tour – August 2019 Verbano Cusio Ossola Silicon Valley 2019

107 replies, 26 voices Last updated by Paolo Marenco 5 years, 1 month ago
  • Paolo Marenco
    Participant
    @paolomarenco
    #3128

    Hi Guys and girls…good debate here.

    Yesterday in Verbania Cobianchi we had a second meeting about SVST with a cool speaker host , Gianluca Lilla from Gignese, one of the first italian expert since 2011 of Blockchain Bitcoin technologies.He talked about his new project in VCO ,  bitcoin mining and services starting from Antrona Hydroelectric PP in Antrona in January, but targeting other power plants in VCO.Biomine 

    Gianluca can come to tell his project in Domo- Marconi Gobetti, January 14, for one hour .

    We try to find an hour to do it, stay tuned!

    That day  we’ll tell you how many applications to Bando Fondazione Comunitaria we would have been received, up to the 11 deadline!

     

    Marco Pastore
    Participant
    @marcopastore
    #3140

    Thank you Kabir, really nice comment.   I believe too that the same technology can destroy some jobs in one industry but at the same time can be a really useful support in another industry. Technology is not our goal, technology is a vehicle to reach our targets as human society (prosperity, cohesion, solidity .. and more).

    Saturday I will introduce the third argument on this forum, please share your opionion on the previous topic to enhance yuor possibilities to be selected!

    Have a good day!

    MP

     

    Paolo Binda
    Participant
    @paolobinda1
    #3142

    Hi everyone!

    I’ve read your posts about drones and I’m really fascinated by a world I don’t know in depth.

    I don’t believe our privacy is endangered by the use of drones for delivery, since they elaborate pictures in real time without sending data to external hosts.

    I think the main issues still to be solved in order to use drones in autopilot mode for delivery are reliability and landing zones.

    As for security I think drones are still unreliable and it might be risky to use them for commercial purposes.

    Some drones have already fallen accidentally because of disfunctions and have caused severe damage to people. This is a video that highlights the problem very clearly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYFdh1w_n6M.

    However, I think it is an easy problem to solve and within a few years these drones are going to be perfectly reliable.

    Another problem to solve in order to make them ready for common use in delivery are the landing zones: a drone with autonomous driving needs a landing zone wide enough to allow safe maneuvers.

    This problem does not occur in the classic American houses with gardens where there is enough space, but in cities like New York or Milan, since there are not enough areas to let the drone land safely, it becomes a bigger problem. I think that in Italy the ideal area for the use of this service is the countryside, where a drone can travel great distances faster than a traditional courier.

    Regarding the problem of privacy I agree with Kabir, drones are not the only way through which “they” may spy us (think about cameras installed in cities which are constantly recording what people are doing).

    The impact of technology on unemployment is a very interesting and current topic, but I also believe that jobs are changing in a world in which the ability to adapt and update is a fundamental skill to master. We should be able to update workers’ knowledge, without substituting them with machines (because machines don’t exist without developers).

     

    Have a nice day!

    PB.

    Maddalena Baraggia
    Participant
    @maddalena
    #3143

    Hi guys!

    I totally agree with Marco about privacy argument, we are quite “accustomed” to being always under observation and we almost don’t take care about. People of previous generations, instead, are very suspicious about being watched and also about giving personal data on the web. I think we should discriminate data, some should remain very private and guarded (for example healthcare data), but others are very useful to spread because firms who collect our data for marketing reasons also can propose us advantages and discounts based on our preferences and so can be a good deal for both parts.

    Then, Marco’s question about economic prosperity is very important and also difficult to answer. Studying macroeconomics, I understand that labor market is the basis on which other markets lean, in fact with a non performing labor market with a lot of unemployment also the goods markets will become poorer, this will generate a lose of value in the currency and so a general crisis of all the country. For this reasons is really important when cutting job positions to always being careful in a possible replacement of workers, because as Marco said the temporal shift between creation and distruction of jobs can be really dangerous. We can imagine new assignments for workers previous employed in traditional deliveries, for example they can learn drones technology and help giving more efficiency to this service, for example in a monitoring activity of drones’ paths.

    See you soon for the next topic

    Maddalena

    Michele fontana
    Participant
    @michele-fontana
    #3147

    Hi everyone!

    Reading Marco’s post, I’d like to say that the world of drones has always fascinated me, because I think they have a huge potential and, With the passage of time, It can be increasingly used in the transport of objects and also in many other sectors.

    Honestly right now, especially in our country, I think that there are still no technologies that allow drones to do the same job as current couriers, but very soon they could easily replace them with many advantages, such as the speed of delivery, the reduction of the pollution and the reduction of labor costs, which entails lower shipping costs, and I don’t think that this is a problem for the world of jobs, because where the market no longer needs the couriers, it needs engineers who build drones, is the evolution of work, It has always existed and nobody can stop it!

    Regarding privacy, I think that the introduction of cameras on drones (of course with the sole purpose of maintaining the right direction) is not the real problem, because already now we are being filmed by dozens of cameras every day simply leaving home, so the problem is more and more deep than this; but a possible remedy could be advanced motion sensors and GPS that allow a safe and precise movement.

    I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

    Michele.

    Michele Pelgantini
    Participant
    @michelepelgantini
    #3149

    Reading the previous post of Marco, I wondered about Drones.

    What are drones?

    I’ve been dealing with drones since 6 years by now, with the Parrot Drone. I immediately noticed that they are really well designed and fi by engineers to provide the best experience on the field. The safety of the product might depends on the user and on how it is used, that is why many incidents involving drones have occurred in the last years.

    Even though our country hasn’t made yet any rules or measures about flying drones, I firmly believe that the use of drones should be limited to certain public areas, in such way of other people’s privacy isn’t jeopardised. On top of this drones should be sold only to certified people’s that won’t use them to perform any dangerous or careless actions, such as the recent incident at Gatwick, where a not identified drone flew over an airport, interrupting the flying activities for a whole day.

    One of the dangers, I think it might happen regarding those violating devices is that companies can use it to collect data and spam people houses with advertisements, and they can also be used to steal information from other companies, which already happens everyday through online data-collecting and hacking.

    But on the other hand, since new solar powered devices are being made, it can really help to reduce world pollution thanks to the fact that they can replace the traditional delivery Systems by truck.

    It can also revolutionise the market industries, for instace, it can approach places that are dangerous or hard to reach. But I doubt that it will ever replace many human jobs, such as waitresses, since it can be really dangerous to use drones in small closed areas, and they will always need to be controlled by a person.

    The most successful and commercial use that drones can offer so far is the use by film makers and photographers because of the limited power they offer right now.

    so Merry Christmas and Happy new year to everyone 🙂

    Alex
    Participant
    @alex
    #3150

    Hi everyone,

    I agree with Marco about the privacy argument.
    As some of you said, there are many other ways that big companies use to spy us all day through our smartphones, which we accept to use their services.

    One aspect that we haven’t considered is national security and the economic damage that drones can cause.
    Between Wednesday night and Friday evening, Gatwick Airport (UK) has been closed for more than thirty hours. It happened because some drones were seen flying near the runways of the planes. At Gatwick spokesman said around 1000 aircraft had been cancelled or diverted, affecting approximately 140000 passengers, since Wednesday night.
    This event has reignited the controversy over the unscrupulous use of drones in the skies of Britain.

    I think it’s important to introduce, for some categories of drones that can be found in supermarkets and ecommerce, a kind of “flight license”.
    Nowadays many people can afford super technologic 600€ drones, which most likely some guys will receive for Christmas.
    The companies that sell these drones should, before using their drones, show everyone some short videos about the damage, to people or things, that they can create with the incorrect use of their products.

    Regarding the impact on the workers it’s a more delicate discussion.
    All the main work of force has now been replaced by very high-performance machines that can operate 24 hours a day and do not go into sickness.
    Economically, the use of robotic arms is very convenient for companies.
    During my period of work-school alternation I met a business owner who told me about his purchase of robotic arms: they will replace 6 people and he have paid them back within 3 years!

    At this point I consider essential to diversify into the world of work and adapt to society changes.
    I think that in the future work won’t be completely replaced by robots. We need to create the work of the future!

    I take this opportunity to wish everyone Merry Christmas.
    See you soon in the forum.
    Alex

    Paolo Marenco
    Participant
    @paolomarenco
    #3151

    Hy guys , I give you a project to  comment on its page. Michele Cipollone , Genoa guy studying in UAL  ( University of Arts of London) selected to attend the SVST August 2019, launched this project with a team,  selected among the best 30 by the European Commission.

    According to the quality of the comments they  will receive from the net within January 20, 2019, Michele will have the possibility to be selected as the first 5 projects that will attend to an Event in Brussels with top people of European Parliament.

    Big challenge for Michele! You can comment the project straight on its presentation, putting the comment also here!

    have nice Holidays!

    Marco Pastore
    Participant
    @marcopastore
    #3190

    Hi everyone!
    I hope you spent a joyful Christmas!

    I want to conclude this forum with a last argument: innovations that reduce pollution. I link two really different articles:

    https://www.wired.it/scienza/ecologia/2018/12/19/bicchiere-commestibile-biodegradabile-mela/

    https://www.corriere.it/tecnologia/18_dicembre_19/los-angeles-elon-musk-inaugura-suo-tunnel-le-auto-7fcc199e-034f-11e9-94ba-cb54e059ac5f.shtml

    I always put a lot of emphasis on the social impact of innovations.
    Pollution is one of the biggest threats to our planet and to our sociey. I linked two articles which both speak about innovations that promise to reduce pollution. One through recyclable cutlery the other one with eletric and more efficient transportation.

    What are in your opinion the sectors that need the most to be modernize in order to built a cleaner world?
    Transport? Houses? Packaging? Energy production? … ?
    Let’s discuss!

    I remember you that the discussion close 6th january 2018 at 23.59 and that you need to share your opinion on all topics presented in order to obtain the highest evaluation as possible.

    Have fun!

    Marco Pastore

    • This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Marco Pastore.
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    @
    #3208

    Hi everyone!

    Like Marco says pollution is a big problem but I think that innovation to reduce it are a lot and in the next years important steps will be taken; Some innovation that come in my mind concern the field of car and transport in general and the solar energy. For the first field we can produce more electric vehicle, like tesla, or create new type of motor that reduce pollution, like Bosch is doing, here the article https://www.avvenire.it/economia/pagine/diesel-pulito-bosch. For the second I think we must use more the solar energy, because is an infinity resource, cheap and allow producing energy with a low environmental impact.

    Then there are other ideas, for example the article about the drink and eat glasses that Marco post is very interesting especially for the fact that thanks of the material the glasses will be dissolved in non-polluting molecules, so from this material we could create new type of bag and bottle; Even the second article is very interesting and I think it’s a good idea, because the tunnel will reduce traffic and consequently will be reduced acoustic pollution, olfactory pollution and atmospheric pollution. Another interesting innovation that I found is a tissue that captures harmful molecules and purifies the air, http://energia-plus.it/un-innovativo-tessuto-che-cattura-linquinamento-e-purifica-laria_87686/; One last thing I found is a company that create shelter from recycled materials, https://www.nevhouse.com/

    In conclusion I think that there are a lot of possible innovation in every field for reduce pollution, and we are slowly approaching a world with less pollution.

    Have a nice day!

    Federico

    Michele Pelgantini
    Participant
    @michelepelgantini
    #3221

    Technology has improved our every day life

    although, it has also deteriorated our living conditions under many aspects such as the pollution, tradition….
    The always increasing levels of pollution, a phenomenon entirely caused by man’s greed

    I think the actual solution could be found in the teachings that are given,
    For example it’s really important that we share awareness over recycling and also for large companies to respect the environmental regulations.
    Otherwise it will end as the case of Wolkswagen

    But as for right now, what can we do?

    I throughly believe in technology.
    I see it, for example, in the steps forward being made by the outstanding entrepreneur Elon Musk
    with Space X, Tesla and with the Hyperloop.
    Elon is one of the many architects of progress. Another example is this young man, whose deeds are shown in the linked video, where he speaks of the self-cleaning of the oceans.
    He went out and studied the way to do something unique and unheard of, astonishing.
    We need to be inspired by the great actions of others to the point where we personally feel the need to take change into our own hands, either by slightly tweaking our daily routine to help lowering pollution or by aiming to much more grand goals, just like the aforementioned men. In order to earn our wings.

    Maddalena Baraggia
    Participant
    @maddalena
    #3222

    Hi everybody!

    I hope you were happy during this holidays and I make best wishes for a joyful 2019.

    First of all I was very affected by the topic presented by Paolo, the amazing project of Michele.

    This is the comment I posted on the European Commission Website, in the hope that Michele can win this competition and have some help to apply its great project:

    “Hello,

    My name is Maddalena and I’m an Italian MSc student in Management and Finance.

    I want to compliment with Michele and the other guys involved in this project which is very ambitious but can bring a lot of benefits for the whole economics and citizens.

    As shown in the example of Daniel, we can see that he can easily interact with the super Artificial Intelligence to understand how can set up his entrepreneurial idea in the best way for himself and also for the other citizens, in fact the combination between sAI and serious gaming let Daniel know, by making a lot of searches in the citizen’s dataset, which one is the most strategic place to set its activity, the aim prefixed can be different, for example he set the one to reduce unemployment, but others can be set!

    Also, Daniel by interacting virtually with other citizens can achieve points and the people with the highest number of points can be nominated as citizen representative: this means that everyone can enter in the policy if very determined and motivated.

    This mechanism is very nice in my opinion because can bring world to the real “democracy”.

    The artificial intelligence collect all the proposals of citizens and governments will watch at them in the future laws, this will be guaranteed by the fact that in the government there will be honest citizens with high grades given by other citizens.

    The idea is positive in my opinion, but we must be careful because not always people with a huge number of “followers” are the best to keep government decisions, so the setting of the points must be very well defined.

     

    This idea remember me an article that I had recently read on Focus (November 2018 edition): in China a similar idea already exist from 2014 in an experimental phase where, by using the most advanced digital technologies and AI the government is defining a detailed profile of all citizens: the best receives honors and discounts, the worst are very limited in their freedom, for example they can’t buy a house where they want and also they can’t move by fast trains or planes. In China this situation is not very positive, it can improve by reducing the control only on some important aspects and don’t reduce freedom in such a way.”

     

    See you later,

    Maddalena

    Maddalena Baraggia
    Participant
    @maddalena
    #3223

    For what regards the other topics presented by Marco:

     

    I really like the idea of drinking in a glass made by apples, as said in the video it seems also to have a good taste! So in my opinion they can be introduced also in the production of bags as Federico said. It’s very important to develop more of this non polluting molecules. Also, I think it’s useful to give a stronger civic education and more severe sentences for people who leave garbage in the environment.

     

    For the tunnel of Elon Musk, I think it’s a very futuristic idea. Yes, it can reduce the traffic once implemented but we have to consider that it’s very expensive and in my opinion it will be very difficult to replicate it in other European cities.

     

    More in general, the pollution argument is very serious and year by year the situation is more dramatic!

    I think that a lot of very innovative and clever ideas yet exists as we saw for example in the previous videos presented, but the strong problem is that this ideas are prevented by the famous “strong powers” of the big corporation.

    Science and engineering are very advanced but without support, innovation remains limited! We are seeing for example the decisions of Trump of the return to coal: not a step forward but 100 steps behind…

    In my opinion the most severe topics in the pollution argument are the energy production and transports.

    For the energy production argument, a lot of rules must be set by governments to guarantee a wide use of clean energy, where the solar one is the easiest to implement and it will be very interesting to develop more technologies which used the energy produced by waves, hardly reducing the coal’s and methane’s combustion. But it’s important that this rules should be set by all countries and not as now where the biggest countries producers of pollution don’t follow the common directives in this topic (Kyoto Protocol). According to the actual world scenario, very divided and with political ideas extremely different, I think that this common vision is far away to be implemented.

    For the transports topic, I think that electric cars are a very good solution, maybe some economic incentives can bring to a wider use of them and also cities should prepare to a major use of electric cars providing charging columns in a lot of points and I found very good the idea of the start-up Oil&Sun to provide a net of charging station which use clean energies to place in each common service station, have a look on http://www.fotovoltaicosulweb.it/guida/stazioni-di-servizio-per-auto-elettriche.html.

    Let me know what do you think about this interesting topics

    Bye,

    Maddalena

    Celeste
    Participant
    @celestegiani
    #3224

    Hi everyone,

    My name is Celeste (20), I am currently in my second year of BSc International Business and Marketing at the University of Leeds, one of UK’s top business schools. Even though I now attend university in West Yorkshire, I am originally from Arizzano (VB).

    Before university, I attended IIS Cobianchi for three years, and then I continued my studies in Maine (U.S.) where I gained the American High School Diploma.

    Technology is a big passion of mine. I am interested in technological innovations that solve everyday problems and drive prosperity. I am currently the Branding Secretary for HiTECH Innovation Leeds, a society at my university. My team aims to bridge the gap between innovative ideas and technological knowledge. We organize regular talks (HiTALK), meetings (HiCHAT), movie screenings (HiFILM) centered around technology. We believe in technology as an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural field. I am an advocate for equality and I believe that there should be more women in tech. For this reason, I am in the process of organizing a small conference at my university where women from the tech industry will give speeches about their experiences.

    From a business perspective, I have great interest in the application of technology to marketing operations. I have attended several courses at Google Digital Garage; for example, Google digital skills, to deepen my understanding of the existing opportunities in the digital world.

    I love the VCO province, and I strongly believe in its potentials. I aspire to become one of the future leaders that will drive change and innovation in this beautiful and resourceful area. I believe in the power of women in tech and through this experience I hope to refine the skills and knowledge I need in order to inspire more females to pursue their aspirations.

    Finally, I am sure this opportunity will be an important milestone in widening my professional network, have a deeper understanding of current research trends, and have a better understanding of the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur.

    All the best,

    Celeste

    • This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Celeste.
    Marco Fattalini
    Participant
    @marcofattalini
    #3226

    Hi everyone!

    My name is Marco,i’m 19 years old and i live in Verbania.Last year I graduated at the secondary school of Verbania called “Cobianchi”,where I spent 5 years.In those years I met for the first time the wide world of chemistry:it was love at first sight between us.Honestly,I was interested in science since a was a kid:I always been used to ask my parents a lot of questions about nature and all the things that are around us,and this curiosity has never left my soul.I decided to enroll at the “Chemistry,material and byotechnologies” course in Cobianchi,and then I have chosen the articulation of “Chemistry and material”,thanks to it I increased my knowledge in order to feed my passion.I reached a lot of goals during the period at Cobianchi: I won a scholarship provided by the school,i achieved the degree with an high valutation and I represented my school during the National Challenge of chemistry,and I conquered the 13th place (what an honour for me!).

    After those 5 years I decided to continue my study,I was looking for a course that could combine my passion for chemistry to the aspiration to build my own chemistry factory,my dream is still to open my own activity with an innovating idea.I decided to join the course “Industrial Chemistry” in the University of Milan,this course was perfect for my purpose:it studies in detail chemistry and it has got in the 4th year,in the master degree course that I would like to reach,an exam about economics.

    After some months since the beginning of the University I can say to be so satisfied about my choice and I’m studying hard for the exams,in spite of the deficiency of hours of sleep because I commute very day to Milan.I love chemistry and I feel that I’m doing the right steps to have a succesful career

    When I heard about the SVST I felt a vibration in my veins:what a fantastic chance to look closer to the area where technologies and succesful companies are located.I think that chemistry played a fundamental role in the economics of the VCO area,a lot of chemistry plant grew up there (like Vinavil in Villadossola) so when I heard about SVST I felt excited:it is my occasion to develop my knowledge,to feed my ambitions and to have a look to the glorious career of people who reached the glory with their own ideas,starting from the bottom.I would be very happy to take part to the tour because I’m a very ambitious guy and one day I will reach all my goals,thanks to my perseverance:the Silicon valley represents for me the temple of people who work hard in order to achieve the “finish line”,and I feel that one day I could be exactly like them.

     

    I wish to all of you a happy 2019,bye!See you soon in the forum!

    Marco

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