Andrea, Il Nonno and digital technology

(by Vito Coviello, AIDR member, Head of the Digital Technologies Observatory in the transport and logistics sector)

"... The world is a book, and those who don't travel read only one page ..."

It is with this phrase, attributed to Sant'Agostino, that the grandfather begins his journey by car with his grandson.

Grandfather and grandson move from the metropolitan city of Turin to reach the Ligurian sea.

Start a new page in their life and during the journey they will discuss the use of digital technology.

Andrea is 15 years old, the use of digital technology has no secrets for him: he is always connected with his smartphone.

The grandfather is 72 years old, he still feels very active even in the digital field: he is connected with his smartphone. Not always, but enough.

Comparing Two Generations, a slightly different language, same passion for the web and social networks.

The result is a close comparison on words and technologies that leads them to discuss everything during the trip, often with very discordant opinions.

 

Not no - Digital revolution.

Through the Apps, I read the newspapers, consult the weather, share everything with my groups of friends via WhatsApp. Thanks to these apps I am always updated on what is happening in the world. Why do you insist that I'm still analog ???

Grandfather, for me the digital revolution is apps, but all those that make me feel connected to others ... social games. You downloaded 4 or 5 of the App and now you want to know everything? (Andrew).

Andrew - hate speech.

Let's see if you know what "Hate speech" means! Surely you don't know it's hate speech, often racial. It is a shabby way of getting noticed on the web that I, however, do not share (Andrea).

You're absolutely right, but why don't you say it directly in Italian? Our language is so beautiful! (Not no).

Not no - Smart City.

Do you know what a Smart City is? As you can see, I also use a few words in English. You know I know well that in English a word can take on different meanings and, in this case, I am talking about smart and sustainable cities. Just think that an ICity Rank has been established with which an annual national report of the smartest Italian cities is made! Cities are measured by 6 indices: digital transformation, environmental protection, sustainable mobility, social quality, governance capacity and economic solidity.

And don't you know that in 2019 Milan, Florence and Bologna were the smartest cities in Italy. But we in Turin are not in bad shape: we are in fifth place!

We are now talking about cities 4.0, cities must exploit all new technologies in order to become inclusive, digital and, above all, intelligent.

But, be careful! Cities must also be green and sustainable in the provision of social services and public mobility.

Ok Grandpa, don't get too excited! These are things that we also study at school, what do you think? (Andrew)

Andrew - Sexting and grooming.

What about Sexting and grooming? I bet you don't even know these terms! Thanks to the network and the internet we kids are connected 24 hours a day.

We can know everything and everyone. The Internet not only provides information that enriches you from a cultural and social point of view, it also facilitates social relationships as you know ... we teenagers can have new experiences and play with the content made available .. also to get to know our body better ...

Of course ... maybe I didn't know exactly these words, but I am aware of the risky practices that the network makes available.

I am increasingly convinced that the school should provide for a compulsory course that leads all young people to take a "digital license". A course that trains you and informs you adequately about the risks of the network and that teaches you to make proper use of the web and social networks. Teachers and the postal police should put together a method for teaching how to move around the network and recognize the risks to which one can expose oneself in its use. The digital license must be a serious matter and you should necessarily obtain it by taking an exam! (Not no)

Not no - Digital transformation.

You know I hadn't finished the discussion on smart cities and digital transformation before. You should know that digital transformation is also measured in Italian cities. It can be measured through 10 indicators! I only remember 3: the Apps made available by the municipality, the public WI-FI and digital transparency. If I remember correctly, the city at the top of the list is Florence, the last one is Agrigento. Even in the digital transformation, you know, Turin is in good shape, it is close to the first cities.

Okay okay. But don't believe that WI-FI is public everywhere! Then there are still many areas not covered, especially in some suburbs, in many mountain resorts. Now you know it because I am in the mountains with you and your grandmother, I never go there willingly .. I spend whole days moving around to find the point where there is the best connection. Risk of being out of this world! (Andrew)

Andrew, LOL, BAE, SHOOK, HASHTAGS .

Let's see if you get along with these terms, grandpa: LoL, BaE, ShooK, HashtaG. Nothing to say, right?

Okay, I'll help you out.

LOL stands for "laughing Out Loud" and means "laughing out loud". We often use it in online chats.

We use BAE to indicate your favorite friend, our "Befone Anyone Else"!

Shook is used when you are faced with a situation that you don't know how to deal with or when something upsets, scares you.

HASHTAG I won't even tell you, if you don't know, you're too far behind!

OK, I feel the low blow. I did not know the first 3 terms, but the last one did and I don't need to tell you the meaning. One observation: but can you teenagers to create a slang that adopts new words and acronyms yes, but of Italian derivation? (Not no).

Not no, Blockchain.

Now let's see if the word BlockChain is in your vocabulary!

You know, it's been talked about so much lately that I finally bought a book to try and understand something. It seems to be a real revolution because it is a kind of public and decentralized ledger that uses "peer-to-peer" technology to validate transactions between two parties in a secure, verifiable and permanent way.

Now I'm sure you will ask me what is meant by peer-to-peer and by transaction, then I will advance and explain it to you.

Imagine a network in which each of the computers is connected and, like all the others, has access to common resources, without a dedicated control unit. A peer-to-peer network is, therefore, a network that connects devices to each other, without the need to go through a central server. Transactions, on the other hand, are operations between computers consisting of the exchange of messages.

The blockchain allows you to validate transactions between two parties in a secure, verifiable and permanent way. But ... how does all this happen?

Each transaction leaves a trace. The term blockchain translated means "chain of blocks". Basically a computer network reaches consensus on the creation of a new "block" (the block includes all validated operations) and joins the chain without being able to be modified anymore. The result is that there can be no doubts about what happened along the way because there are no different versions of the same document, and each modification is transparent.

It could be said that the blockchain is a bit like the "notary" but without generating costs_ it is a real revolution because there is no longer a need to have a single server controlled by someone, but all the participants have a copy, and at any time they can check if a data has been modified, by whom, and isolate it since it does not coincide with the original one of which everyone has a copy.

It can be deduced that if there is a later need to modify information, it will be necessary to open a new block and declare it. With this system there is no longer the possibility of corruption or theft.

Blockchains can be public, owned by a group of organizations (eg a consortium) or private and, therefore, managed in the latter case by a single organization.

The blockchain, whether public or private, is based on distributed archives (Distributed ledger). Distributed Ledger Technologies or DLTs can be defined as a set of systems characterized by the fact of referring to a distributed ledger, governed in such a way as to allow access and the ability to make changes by multiple nodes of a network. Any transaction with the related data is subjected to an asymmetric double key signature mechanism which, while not requiring certificates issued by accredited certification bodies, works with a mechanism similar to that of the digital signature. DLTs provide for the use of cryptographic algorithms that enable the user to use the system by providing him with a public and a private key that is used to sign transactions or to activate smart contracts or other services connected to the blockchain.

the Italian legislator has established that a smart contract, to be defined as such, must simultaneously have the following characteristics:

  • be a computer program;
  • operating on technologies based on distributed registers;
  • the execution of which automatically binds two or more parties;
  • based on effects predefined by them.

Nonnooo !!!! you could read an adventure book, a thriller or, at least, an essay!

These readings can cause nightmares, I hope you did them all in the morning ...

Now we have reached the sea and, therefore, I am really in a hurry to check if the house you rented for the holidays has a good wi-fi and then I have to run to the sea! (Andrew)

Andrea, Il Nonno and digital technology