A Concrete Step Toward Responsible AI in Public Administration
have been published Raccomandazioni della Community italiana per il governo aperto sull’utilizzo dell’Intelligenza Artificiale nella Pubblica Amministrazione, un documento che promuove un’adozione consapevole, trasparente e inclusiva delle tecnologie emergenti.
Developed as part of the 6th National Action Plan for Open Government 2024-2026, the Recommendations are the result of a collaborative process that involved institutions, experts, and civil society, with the aim of guiding the development and use of AI according to the principles of fairness, accountability, and democratic participation.
Among the organizations that actively contributed to the implementation of this commitment, Digital Library – the Central Institute for the Digitisation of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture. The Institute made available the experience gained in the digital transformation of the cultural sector through the development of Ecomic, an innovative model for the governance of data and digital services implemented in accordance with the provisions established by the Directorate-General for Digitalisation and Communication.
From the National Digitalisation Plan to Ecomic: the contribution of Digital Library
The contribution of Digital Library stems from the vision outlined in the National Digitalisation Plan for Cultural Heritage, developed by the Institute to support cultural institutions and operators in the digital transformation of the sector.
A vision that finds concrete implementation in Ecomic, the Digital Ecosystem for Culture, developed as an advanced model of collaborative governance for digital cultural heritage.
Come illustrato nel documento strategico di Ecomic, l’Ecosistema mette in relazione infrastrutture, dati, servizi e soggetti diversi secondo i principi di trasparenza, interoperabilità e co-creazione.
Through environments such as D.PaC, dedicated to management and digitisation projects, I.PaC, which enables interoperability, connection, and enrichment of digital resources, and DPaaS, focused on transforming cultural data into reusable products, the Ecosystem creates the conditions for shared, documented, and verifiable management of digital heritage.
It is precisely this experience that provided a concrete reference for the definition of the AI Recommendations, particularly in the areas dedicated to data quality and governance, which must be complete, traceable, and adequately documented.
The practices established in Ecomic demonstrate how the governance of AI systems must be open, verifiable, and participatory, enabling administrations to maintain control over decision-making processes and make the technologies used understandable.
The Recommendations: a reference framework for Public Administration
The 12 Recommendations, structured into five areas – training, data, AI systems, adoption, and monitoring – constitute an operational reference framework to enable administrations to introduce Artificial Intelligence solutions in a responsible and sustainable manner.
The document highlights the need to develop widespread skills, not only technological, but also legal, organisational, and ethical. It also recognises data quality as an essential condition for preventing discrimination and information asymmetries and emphasises the importance of transparent, verifiable AI systems subject to continuous monitoring, also through the involvement of civil society.
Particular attention is also devoted to public procurement, considered a strategic lever for steering the market towards interoperable, governable solutions consistent with the principles of open government.
Through the National Digitalisation Plan for Cultural Heritage and the development of Ecomic, Digital Library has contributed to bringing into the Recommendations a model already tested in the cultural sector, in which technological innovation, data quality, and public responsibility advance together.
A contribution aimed at ensuring that Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration is developed and used as a tool serving people, rights, and democracy. To learn more: