(Finance) – “It is important that the next Commission has an ambitious agenda, which strengthens Europe’s economic position at home and its geopolitical position abroad. With the power of persuasion, which comes from our values and policies, the EU can continue to play its role as a pre-eminent soft power at global level”. This is the message launched by the EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni at the 5th Soft Power Club Conferenceorganized by Francesco Rutelli in Venice.
“Our institutions – he underlined Gentlemen – will remain credible if they are able to address the major economic and social challenges of our time: sustainable growth, climate, security, AI. Leading by example is key to maintaining persuasion and thus exercising our soft power. Other jurisdictions pay close attention to what we do in Europe. We have also seen this clearly in our climate legislation: in the ambitious targets for 2030 and 2050 that many countries have emulated, and in the historic introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism, which is now also being considered by several important countries.”
Clear theGentiloni’s warning regarding the polarization of ideas generated by social media: a trend that risks “creating opposing camps incapable of finding common ground”. The development of social media – said the EU Commissioner – “has led to an inability to agree even on basic facts” and these advances “are too often exploited by actors intent on sowing discord in our societies” and “ultimately risk undermining our democracies”.
“In the hopes of many – he underlined Gentlemen – the rise of social media was supposed to democratize access to information and provide a new digital marketplace of ideas. Today we see all too clearly that this vision was naive, to say the least. The spread of disinformation online has led to an inability to agree on even the most basic facts, with algorithms rewarding those who appeal to our worst emotions, to fear, to hatred. Advances in artificial intelligence allow us to have deepfake videos indistinguishable from reality. And these advances are too often exploited by malicious actors. This increased polarization – Gentiloni warned – risks creating opposing camps living in their own ivory towers, unable to find common ground. This worrying trend is particularly evident in the United States, but should not be underestimated in Europe either. Trust, as Robert Putnam said, is an essential component of social cohesion. If you can no longer trust what you see and hear, that too can begin to crack. These developments, if left unchecked, – he concluded – ultimately risk undermining our democracies”.