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CSAIA Present with Its Faculty Members at the International School on AI Technology and Law – Ettore Majorana Foundation, Erice

Erice September 2026

2nd Course: AI Technology and Law
Directors: A. LEHMANN – P.P.M. MENCHETTI

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY & LAW

ERICE – SICILY

ERICE-SICILY, 1 – 6 September 2026

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Considering the extraordinary spread of AI developments and innovative applications in recent years, and their profound influence on private, business, and public life, the aim of the School is to offer young researchers the opportunity to understand the relevance of technological innovations in the field of artificial intelligence. The courses will illustrate technological benefits and risks across different application areas, while also analyzing the state of the art regarding social behaviors, ethical and legal rules, and further regulatory needs. Participants will have a unique opportunity to learn from and engage with internationally renowned experts. The expression “artificial intelligence” was coined during a workshop held in 1956 at Dartmouth College (USA), with great expectations regarding the possibility of developing machines as intelligent as human beings. However, due to overestimated expectations, research funding underwent two major reductions: the first in the mid-1970s and the second at the end of the 1980s. With the progressive and continuous increase in the performance of computing devices, sensors, communication technologies, and data storage systems in the early 2000s, machine learning and deep learning concepts were developed and successfully applied to multiple purposes across almost every sector. The latest revolutionary breakthrough in AI capabilities began in the early 2020s with the development of generative AI algorithms and tools. The presentations will address these developments, highlighting their benefits while promoting awareness of emerging opportunities and risks. Practical “hands-on” tools will offer participants the opportunity to use, learn, and better understand both the potential and the critical issues related to the application of AI methods and tools. Alongside the extraordinary benefits deriving from the application of these technologies, side effects and risks for public, economic, and private life are also constantly increasing, often underestimated or overlooked. Consequently, ethical and socially responsible behavior requires the introduction of codes of conduct and a global legal framework aimed at preventing abuse, fraud, and criminal activities. The main challenges consist in promoting awareness, fostering worldwide behavioral and legal agreements, and keeping pace with the rapid development and application of AI. From this perspective, the presentations will analyze the global state of the art regarding rules of conduct, governance, legal regulation, as well as ethical and social implications.

PROGRAMME AND LECTURERS

2nd Course: AI Technology and Law – Erice, Sicily | 1–6 September 2026

AI in Smart Cities; AI for Sustainable Infrastructure

S. AL SANAD
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Shuwaikh, Kuwait (KW)

AI for Cyber Resilience, Cyber Deterrence and Cyber Readiness. Best Practice and Workaround to Prevent Security Incidents for Enterprise, Critical Infrastructure and Governments

M. BRACCIOLI
Cybersecurity ICSA Foundation, Rome, Italy (IT)

How Modern AI Protocols Are Transforming Biomedical Research: From the Laboratory Bench to the Bedside

E. BURATTI
Molecular Pathology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy (IT); Cape Town, South Africa (ZA); New Delhi, India (IN)

Artificial Intelligence and the Principle of Non-Discrimination

G. CARAPEZZA FIGLIA
Law Department, LUMSA University, Rome, Italy (IT)

Artificial Intelligence for Materials Science and Technology

G. CICALA
Materials Science and Technology Department, University of Catania, Italy (IT)

AI: Ethical and Social Implications

G. MIEKE DEKETELAERE
Sustainable, Ethical and Trustworthy AI, Vlerick Business School, Brussels, Belgium (BE)

From Privacy to AI Governance: Building Resilient and Responsible Frameworks for the Future

U. DELLRUD
Privacy and Data Ethics; NED; ISACA Belgium; AI Governance Advisory Board, IAPP; European Data Protection Board; NY Bar Association, Brussels, Belgium (BE)

AI Tools Challenge for Business Administration

R. DI PIETRA
University of Siena, Siena, Italy (IT)

International Regulations and Law: Emerging Tech Law and Governance

P. DUGGAL
Supreme Court of India; Chairman, International Commission on Cyber Security Law, New Delhi, India (IN)

Artificial Intelligence Applications in Agriculture

P. GAY
Department of Agricultural Forest and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Italy (IT)

AI Tools Example and Applications with Ethical and Social Implications

S. GREENMAN
Best Practice AI, World Economic Forum Global AI Council, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels, London, United Kingdom (UK)

Anthropological Limits, Challenges and Risks of Transhumanism. The Christian Approach

C. KENANIDIS
General Office of the Orthodox Church in EU-Parliament, Brussels, Belgium (BE)

Basic Development from Physics to AI: The Flow of OECD Regulations and Recommendations on AI, and How They Have Been Implemented in Korean Acts and Regulations

S.K. OH
Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea (KR)

Historical Developments of AI

A. LEHMANN
Institut für Technische Informatik and Institut für Technik Intelligenter Systeme (ITIS), Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany (DE)

AI in International Relations and Diplomacy

E. LUDOVICO
Major Arm and Geopolitics Advisor, Rome, Italy (IT)

From Predictive Policing to Predictive Justice: Algorithmic Bias, Due Process and Comparative Criminal Procedure in Euro-Mediterranean Systems

D. MAINENTI
Comparative Criminal Procedural Law, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy (IT)

Complexity of Legislation – Processes, Legislative Changes, Updating, Codification – and AI

S. MAZZITELLI
Editor, LexisNexis; Observatoire de Légistique, Paris, France (FR)

AI in Finance and Digital Innovations. Challenges for Public Finance

F. MEDDA
Institute of Finance and Technology, UCL – University College London, London, United Kingdom (UK)

Artificial Intelligence: From Biomedical Research to Healthcare Application

P.P.M. MENCHETTI
EU Commission / EMA Chairman Thematic Panel; CSAIA Association, Rome, Italy (IT)

Data Protection, Intellectual Property and Liability in the Age of Generative AI: EU and Comparative Perspectives

S. NOVELLI
Dept. Genetics and Biotech in Medicine, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy (IT)

Data Protection, Intellectual Property and Liability in the Age of Generative AI: EU and Comparative Perspectives

S. OCCHIPINTI
LUISS Alumni 4 Growth, LUISS University, Rome, Italy (IT)

AI as a Tool of Peace: Declarations and Insights of This Instrument

D. PULCINI
University for Peace – United Nations Mandated, United Nations, Rome, Italy (IT)

Patent and Liability Issues for AI: Challenge for Ethical and Social Implication

A. POULIOU
Maastricht University, Faculty of Law; European Centre of Privacy and Cybersecurity; Data Protection Commission; CERN, Geneva, Switzerland (CH)

Legal Aspects of Cloud Computing in Light of the New Regulations Governing Digital Service Contracts

R. SCOTTI
Private Law and Energy and Sustainable Development Law – University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy (IT)

Major Domains: AI Application in Italian Administrative Justice

D.F. SIVILLI
Council of State (Main Office for Administrative Justice), Rome, Italy (IT)

AI in Finance: Practical Applications, Risks and Opportunities; Central Banks and Supervisory Authorities on AI: From Internal SupTech Adoption to the Oversight of AI by Regulated Entities

A. VIVOLI
Central Bank of San Marino Republic, San Marino (SM)

POETIC TOUCH
According to legend, Erice, son of Venus and Neptune, founded a small town more than three thousand years ago on the summit of a mountain rising 750 meters above sea level. The founder of modern history — understood as the methodical and chronological narration of events as they actually occurred, without recourse to mythical causes — the great Thucydides (5th century BC), writing about the events connected to the conquest of Troy (1183 BC), stated: «After the fall of Troy, some Trojans, fleeing from the Achaeans, reached Sicily by sea and, settling near the borders of the Sicani, were collectively called Elymians: their cities were Segesta and Erice». This account inspired Virgil to describe the arrival of the Trojan royal family in Erice and the burial of Anchises, carried out by his son Aeneas on the coast beneath the mountain. Homer (~1000 BC), Theocritus (~300 BC), Polybius (~200 BC), Virgil (~50 BC), Horace (~20 BC), and many others celebrated this magnificent Sicilian place in their verses. For seven centuries (13th–19th century), the town of Erice was governed by a local oligarchy whose wisdom ensured a long period of cultural development and economic prosperity, from which originated the many churches, monasteries, and noble palaces that can still be admired today. In Erice, visitors may explore the Castle of Venus, the Cyclopean Walls (~800 BC), and the Gothic Cathedral (~1300 AD). Today, the town appears as an evocative fusion of ancient and medieval architecture. Other masterpieces of ancient civilization can be found nearby: Motya (Phoenician), Segesta (Elymian), and Selinunte (Greek). In the Aegadian Islands — the setting of the decisive naval battle of the First Punic War (264–241 BC) — fascinating Neolithic and Paleolithic remains can still be admired: the caves of Favignana and the rock engravings and paintings of Levanzo. Splendid beaches can be found at San Vito Lo Capo, Scopello, and Cornino, while a wild and rocky coastline stretches around Monte Cofano: all less than an hour’s drive from Erice.
APPLICATIONS

Those wishing to participate in the Course should submit a written application to the Directors of the School:

Please include the following information in the application:

  1. Full name, age, gender, nationality;
  2. Postal address, telephone number, e-mail;
  3. Current position and scientific interests;
  4. Title or abstract of a scientific contribution for the poster session(s), which may be included in the program.
PLEASE NOTE

Participants must arrive in Erice for the 1st Course no later than 7:00 PM on April 26, 2026 and, for the 2nd Course, no later than 7:00 PM on September 1, 2026.

Further information on the other activities of the
“ETTORE MAJORANA FOUNDATION AND CENTRE FOR SCIENTIFIC CULTURE”
is available on the website at the following address:
https://ettoremajoranafoundation.it
Download the course brochure
Download the program
Download the Travel Form

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