Artificial intelligence, robotics and the humanities: a conversation with Mirta Michilli, Luca Iocchi, Tiziana Catarci and Davide Belli
The run-up to the 19th edition of RomeCup continues. This multi-event, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, is scheduled to take place from 28 to 30 April 2026 at Sapienza University of Rome, with a special closing event at the Campidoglio. Once again this year, Rai News is the event’s media partner and, through interviews and in-depth features, profiles the key players in innovation: students, researchers, lecturers, universities, businesses and institutions. In the new episode, hosted by journalist Francesca Oliva and dedicated to the convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics and the humanities, the discussion begins with Mirta Michilli, Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. The focus of the discussion is on the new features of the 19th edition and the significance of an event that, for almost twenty years, has been showcasing innovation through the lens of young people.
“The partnership with Rai News is very important for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, and also highly prestigious,” explains Michilli. “We have been organising the RomeCup for 19 years; we have now reached the 19th edition, so being able to showcase the world of innovation—especially youth innovation—and our country’s excellence in cutting-edge technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence is a wonderful thing.”
RomeCup 2026 comes in a special year for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, which is celebrating 25 years of activity. “For 25 years we have been striving to help people make the most of the opportunities offered by technological development,” recalls Michilli, “particularly young people, from school to university, to young professionals, and even those who find it hardest to make the most of the opportunities offered by technological development. So we focus on innovation, but also on inclusion, always putting young people at the centre.”
Among the most significant new features of the 2026 edition is the special prize dedicated to Digital Humanities, established in memory of Tullio De Mauro, the Foundation’s long-standing president for over ten years. “In collaboration with Sapienza University,” Michilli emphasises, “we have decided to dedicate a special section of the award to young researchers and PhD students specifically on the theme of Digital Humanities, precisely to highlight the importance of dialogue between the sciences and the humanities, which is increasingly necessary to interpret the impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence on society, language and culture.”
Alongside the award, the Foundation is also presenting two practical tools aimed at the education sector: a guide on media and minors, built around the shift “from control to educational care”, and a guide for the informed and ethical adoption of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
“These are not theoretical tools,” Michilli points out, “they are practical guides that complement the daily work carried out by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale to help society make the most of all the opportunities linked to technological development.”
Professor Luca Iocchi, full professor in the Department of Computer, Automation and Management Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, discusses the scientific value of robotic football, a long-standing feature of the RomeCup. It offers an immediate demonstration, accessible even to the general public, yet grounded in complex research challenges: perception, locomotion, autonomous decision-making, teamwork and interaction in dynamic environments.
“We chose robotic football because it is an event that is easy to understand,” explains Iocchi. “All you need is a football pitch, a ball, two goals, a few lines, two robots wearing different-coloured shirts, and people immediately understand what they are doing.” But behind the apparent simplicity of the scene lies a scientific competition: “The robots aren’t controlled by a person using a joystick, but use artificial intelligence programmes to make decisions about how to move on the pitch and how to play football.”
Research, Iocchi points out, has changed alongside the public perception of artificial intelligence. Whilst for years the narrative around AI was associated with machines beating humans, today the perspective is different: “In the 2000s, there was a shift in perspective, because we all realised – researchers as well as the companies developing AI and robotics technology – that we must develop technology to improve people’s work and lives, and therefore design systems for interactive collaboration between people and robots.”
It is in this direction that the educational message of the RomeCup lies: to demonstrate the potential of technology, but also its limitations. “We are increasingly explaining to the public that robotics and AI can be integrated to enhance people’s capabilities, not to replace them,” says Iocchi. He adds: “In robot football, mistakes are entertaining, but we must also explain that in real life, technological errors can be very serious and very dangerous.”
Speaking on behalf of young people is Davide Belli, a mechanical engineering graduate from Sapienza University and now part of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, whose personal story has been intertwined with robotics since childhood. His journey began with curiosity, Lego and the discovery of a robotics kit, culminating in his encounter with the Fondazione Mondo Digitale at the age of 11. “There I found lots of people who shared my curiosity and my passion,” says Belli. For those wanting to get into robotics today, his first piece of advice is not to look for just one path: “There isn’t just one way to get started in robotics. In reality, it’s an extremely vast field with many different entry points. What I’d say is to have a bit of curiosity, to be curious and find the topic you personally find most interesting.” The second key word is teamwork. “Working on a robot isn’t simply about achieving a goal in terms of building something; it’s much more than that. In fact, it’s about learning new skills and transferable competencies,” explains Belli. “As I see it, robotics is a delicate intersection of three disciplines: mechanics, electronics and computer science. And since no one, on their own, can master all three, teamwork is essential.”
This is also the inspiration behind the invitation to young people to visit the Fondazione Mondo Digitale’s FabLab, a place where many robotics projects have been born and where young people can turn their curiosity and passion into skills. “We are a big family of makers,” says Belli, “a family that wants to grow. I would like to invite all young people who want to get into robotics: come to the FabLab, come and see us, and start this wonderful journey with us.”
The discussion was concluded by Tiziana Catarci, full professor of Computer Engineering at Sapienza University and director of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies at the CNR. Her contribution shifted the focus to the governance of artificial intelligence, highlighting the need to move beyond a purely technical perspective. “We are now at a point where, to truly understand artificial intelligence, we must look beyond the purely technical dimension and instead consider the social, economic, ethical and cultural dimensions,” says Catarci. This awareness requires the contribution of diverse fields of knowledge. It is no coincidence, she notes, that Sapienza was the first Italian university to offer a degree programme in Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence, which is now also available at Master’s level.
The question is not merely how to advance artificial intelligence, but what it ought to do, in what contexts, with what limits and with what safeguards. “The most important thing now is not technological advancement – which, in some respects, is truly impressive – but its impact on society,” emphasises Catarci, highlighting the cultural, social, political and democratic changes and the potential risks to democracy.
For this reason, the governance of AI cannot be entrusted to just a few parties. “This development cannot be left solely to technicians, developers, nor solely to regulators, nor indeed to the most powerful players, who, at least in the West, are private economic actors,” explains Catarci. “Artificial intelligence affects profound aspects of individual and collective life: work, healthcare, education, public administration, and access to services.” Governance must therefore be distributed, capable of drawing on diverse expertise and of building a cultural and institutional framework in which the technology can be understood, assessed and governed. “If there is no shared vision, if there is no diversity among those involved, innovation risks going down a single track,” warns Catarci. The risk is that AI, rather than reducing inequalities, will end up widening them.
The role of the university then becomes decisive: a place of learning, but also of reflection, sharing and critical analysis of the digital transformation. “Sapienza can help train not only AI specialists, but also citizens and decision-makers capable of understanding its implications, opportunities and risks with full awareness,” concludes Catarci. “Because artificial intelligence must not only be powerful and efficient, but also more understandable, more manageable and, above all, far more oriented towards the common good.”
The event will take place at RomeCup 2026, from 28 to 30 April, at Sapienza University of Rome and the Campidoglio. Rai News will cover the event with a dedicated section, providing real-time coverage of the key figures, challenges, talks, competitions and visions for the future of innovation.
