The Wanderings of a Curious Mind

The Battle of Billionaires

By the end of last year, as is the custom when a decade ends, I started thinking about the future. Obsessively. Climate change, environmental degradation, the collapse of democracy –  if you project those facts into the future, you have to wonder: are we are living at the end of times? But there is an odd fact right under our nose, a small fact that sounds more like a piece of gossip than real…

Why Democracy Produces Incompetent Leaders – How to Fix It

My latest article on Impakter. I’m proposing a very easy-to-apply, simple fix that could save democracy. Interested? Here’s the opening:

Democracy doesn’t work. Plato thought it was a terrible system, a prelude to tyranny, giving power to selfish and dangerous demagogues. Watching what is happening these days in democracies around the world, it’s hard to disagree with Plato. Democracy…

What Sustainable Finance Means and What it Can Do

Just published my latest article on Impakter magazine, here’s the opening:

SUSTAINABLE FINANCE: HOW TO ADDRESS NATURE RISKS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

As our environment is undergoing ever faster collapse, with the rainforest burning in the Amazon, the ice melting in the Arctic and now California ravaged by fires, the goal of achieving sustainable finance appears ever more elusive. It is…

The Climate Emergency: How Humanity Can Avoid the Fate of Dinosaurs

Sorry for the silence, my friends, I’ve been working on a new book – a book for young children told in the voice of my dog Pepy (woof!) – but I didn’t stop working as Senior Editor at Impakter magazine, also contributing articles (yeah, I confess, there’s been a break of several weeks, but I was wrapped up in writing the first draft of my Pepy book …). Now a new article is out, so, as usual,…

Europe's Darkest Hour: The Danger Comes From the UK and Italy and the problem is that they come together. A no-deal Brexit and an exploding Italian budget deficit. What could be worse?

Two political developments threaten Europe: A no-deal Brexit that would certainly hurt the British economy but would also be painful on the continent, and an out-of-control deficit in Italy. Taken separately, Europe could handle the issues. But the problem is that they come together.

The power of Eurosceptic politicians is definitely on the increase across Europe. It has always been so in…

European Elections 2019: A Watershed and Here is Why

My latest article on Impakter:

The 2019 European Parliament elections mark a real watershed for Europe. We are in new territory. European politics will never be the same again. Where there was at best indifference to the dream of a United States of Europe, there is now enthusiasm. And interest in reforming the European institutions to make them work better and bring them closer to the…

Should Robots Be Built To Feel Pain?

My latest article on Impakter, just published, about AI and how we should organize our future with sentient machines. Should we build them to feel pain and other emotions? What is the point of it? What are the dangers?

 Neku – Robot Lover Song (Featuring Aline) in Youtube video

What is the role of pain in our lives?  Pain, we can all agree, is unpleasant, both physically and emotionally.…

Universal Basic Income: Why It's Not The Solution. There's a better solution to address job losses caused by AI and robots: Utility-Added Income.

My latest article on Impakter, here’s the start:

M-Pesa station in Kenya, 2019. This mobile service greatly facilitated GiveDirectly’s experiment

It’s become conventional wisdom that technological progress destroys jobs but also creates new ones balancing out the loss after a painful period of adjustment. Painful for those out of a job who are too old or unable to learn new skills. It’s…

Funding: Too Much for Notre Dame in Paris, Not Enough to Fight Climate Change?

My latest article on Impakter:

Notre Dame burning in Paris, 15 April 2019 Source: Wikimedia

Soon after Notre Dame in Paris went up in flames, teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, in a speech to the European Parliament, said she did not want to diminish the Notre-Dame fire, but wished there was an equal outpouring of funding support to combat issues such as climate change.

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Chaos in Libya: Why Europe is Paralyzed

My latest article on Impakter Magazine announcing the birth of our sister publication IMPAKTER ITALIA and reproducing one of their articles on Libya:

Libya: A masked member of the internationally recognized pro-government forces in a military vehicle, 10 April 2019 Source: Reuters

When Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was ousted by a blitzkrieg in 2011, three European countries played a…

The Race for Artificial Intelligence: China vs. America

My latest article on Impakter:

What is The Role of Europe in the AI Race?

Let’s be clear, Artificial Intelligence, in particular in its latest development, deep learning that mimics the way the human mind works, first emerged in America. This gave the U.S. a huge head start over the rest of the world – including China, putting the U.S. firmly in the lead of the race for AI.

In the photo:…

Catching up with the Green New Deal and New Faces in Congress

I have been remiss, mea culpa: I let three weeks go by without keeping you updated on my latest articles, all published by Impakter Magazine – every Thursday, noontime (i.e. the time in Italy, where I live). As my followers know, I’ve been working there as a Senior Editor since the Magazine launched in 2014.

And it’s been a bumpy, exhilarating ride! Last year, our traffic grew by 120%…

Volt Europa: A New Party to Jolt Europe

My latest article just published on Impakter:

The New Party to Make Europe Smart and Fair

There is a new party rising across Europe, a party shaped by Millennials who want a voice in their future: Volt Europa. The name says it all: Volt Europa, jolt Europe. An electrical charge to shake it out of its lethargy, give it new energy.

Volt is, of course, the international unit to measure…

Italy's Love Affair with Populism: From Berlusconi to Salvini. But things could change soon with the problems of the 5 Star Movement, Salvini's partner in government. And Salvini has problems of his own...

My latest article on Impakter, updated 24 February 2019 with the news that Salvini is taking funds from Russia. Here is the opening:

Italy has a surprising weakness for populism à la Trump. It began over twenty-five years ago with Silvio Berlusconi and his Forza Italia party and is still going strong with the extreme-right populist Lega leader Matteo Salvini. Berlusconi and Salvini share…

Philanthrocapitalism Under Fire: A Call for Responsible Giving

My latest article on Impakter, here’s the opening:

Looking back to the exceptional crop of 2018 bestsellers criticizing the state of our society, from rising economic inequality to populism and climate change, one book stands out: “Winners Take All” by former New York Times columnist and Aspen Institute fellow Anand Giridharadas. It skewers philanthrocapitalism, arguing that uber wealthy…

My Sunday article, just published on Impakter, I found a great featured image with Munch’s famous “Scream” (Creative Commons, photo by David Holt) and here’s the title:

Brexit: The Point of No Return? What Can Be Done?

And the opening:

Are we approaching the point of no return with Brexit? And is there anything that can be done? It can’t be proved, but it looks suspiciously…