Staff Profile
Background
I am the Director of UK's National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) a world-leading organisation, created with a £40 million investment from UK Government and Newcastle University, to help create a world in which we all live better, for longer. The Centre aims to bring together world-leading innovation experts, scientists, industry and the public, to develop, test and bring to market products and services which enhance and improve all aspects of life for our ageing societies.
Before, I was research manager at IBM Research where I have been the Program Manager and Ethics AI lead of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, a $250 million academic industry partnership for the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence.
I am an author, teacher, applied research scientist and I'm interested in understanding how technologies and AI can help mitigate factors as loneliness and isolation, fight ageism (here’s my talk at TEDx) and support life of older adults while preserving independence and dignity in their life-stages progression. I am also interest in the dynamics about women, technology and the workplace and served as founding board member of amazing.community.
In my IBM career, I served as Global Manager of Ai for Healthy Aging in Cambridge; Director of Human Centric Solution Center in Paris; Head of Corporate Brand System and Social media and head of Customer Experience, Brand and Usability both in IBM Italy, Milano.
Prior to joining IBM, I was creative director at McCann-Erikson Interactive and served ad creative director in several advertising agencies.
In my other explorations through innovative digital human landscapes of interaction I was Head of Digital at Tinaba and co-founder of Talent Garden (TAG) Innovation School the largest European co-working and innovation hub. Born in Italy the Innovation School is now active with 23 campuses in 8 different countries. It runs 5 Full time Masters, 10 Masterclasses, has trained more than 3,500 professionals, and involved 80 companies in training programs.
I enjoy writing and am particularly excited about the interaction of technology and humans. I wrote four books all published by Egea/Università Bocconi; my former (Le Infiltrate) was dedicated to the dramatic lack of women in STEM careers and its impact on future society, while the last (Immortali) is a journey through the opportunities of the longevity revolution and the chances of immortality provided by AI and broad research.
I am one of the co-authors of the book Live Longer with AI which explore how emerging tehcnologies are helping us to start regarding health as our greatest personal and societal asset to protect.
I feel strongly that researchers need to engage with the public. I have engaged in a variety of outreach activities, from showcasing applied research in business innovation plays, to public speaking, to organizing and participating in events aimed at the public, in volunteering. I'm glad that the public is interested in what I study and I do, and I'm keen to share my passion with others. I also like to think about the ways in which the longevity revolution will impact society and how technologies will tackle it; this is something that I do through my role as member of the scientific board of the Humane Technology Lab at Università Cattolica of Milan (of which I am also a Notable Alumni) and serving as Board member of International Scientific Advisory Committee at the Mc Master institute for research on aging between others.
Before, I was research manager at IBM Research where I have been the Program Manager and Ethics AI lead of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, a $250 million academic industry partnership for the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence.
I am an author, teacher, applied research scientist and I'm interested in understanding how technologies and AI can help mitigate factors as loneliness and isolation, fight ageism (here’s my talk at TEDx) and support life of older adults while preserving independence and dignity in their life-stages progression. I am also interest in the dynamics about women, technology and the workplace and served as founding board member of amazing.community.
In my IBM career, I served as Global Manager of Ai for Healthy Aging in Cambridge; Director of Human Centric Solution Center in Paris; Head of Corporate Brand System and Social media and head of Customer Experience, Brand and Usability both in IBM Italy, Milano.
Prior to joining IBM, I was creative director at McCann-Erikson Interactive and served ad creative director in several advertising agencies.
In my other explorations through innovative digital human landscapes of interaction I was Head of Digital at Tinaba and co-founder of Talent Garden (TAG) Innovation School the largest European co-working and innovation hub. Born in Italy the Innovation School is now active with 23 campuses in 8 different countries. It runs 5 Full time Masters, 10 Masterclasses, has trained more than 3,500 professionals, and involved 80 companies in training programs.
I enjoy writing and am particularly excited about the interaction of technology and humans. I wrote four books all published by Egea/Università Bocconi; my former (Le Infiltrate) was dedicated to the dramatic lack of women in STEM careers and its impact on future society, while the last (Immortali) is a journey through the opportunities of the longevity revolution and the chances of immortality provided by AI and broad research.
I am one of the co-authors of the book Live Longer with AI which explore how emerging tehcnologies are helping us to start regarding health as our greatest personal and societal asset to protect.
I feel strongly that researchers need to engage with the public. I have engaged in a variety of outreach activities, from showcasing applied research in business innovation plays, to public speaking, to organizing and participating in events aimed at the public, in volunteering. I'm glad that the public is interested in what I study and I do, and I'm keen to share my passion with others. I also like to think about the ways in which the longevity revolution will impact society and how technologies will tackle it; this is something that I do through my role as member of the scientific board of the Humane Technology Lab at Università Cattolica of Milan (of which I am also a Notable Alumni) and serving as Board member of International Scientific Advisory Committee at the Mc Master institute for research on aging between others.
Research
Main Areas of Research
AI for Healthy Aging
- Since 2009 I have developed broad experience in leveraging the Internet of (Caring) Things and data to improve the quality of life of older adults and their stakeholders. I authored the methodological approach “Periodic table of technology-supported ageing.”
Loneliness as looming crisis
- With Zinck, Fraser and Wu I authored “Loneliness and the aging population: how business and governments can address a looming crisis” published by the IBM Institute for Business Value (2017 and updated in 2020).
Ageism
- I have been involved in the global table "Localizing ageism" within the COST Action IS1402 on Ageism. This work aims to apply language analysis techniques to raise awareness of age-related discrimination at the local & national level. I also delivered my TEDx speech on “Ageism: the discrimination of XXI century”.
Aging women, gendered ageism and work
- I have been a founding board member of amazing.community which aims to support women 45 in their life/career transitions and transform the false narrative about aging by redefining workplace inclusion.
Intergenerational workplace
- With five generations in the workforce today making it truly multigenerational Workplaces are key spaces for bringing together different life-stages and forging new connections, where skills develop and common goals are achieved.
Publications
•Loneliness and the aging population: how business and governments can address a looming crisis – IBV, 2020
•Scaling Longitudinal Functional Health Assessment in Multi-Inhabitant Smart home – ICDCS 2019
•Exclusion Spotter: applying advances in AI to identify ageism in online job posting – GSA 2019
•Do dense urban centres provide large supportive social network? – GSA 2019
•Loneliness and the aging population: how business and governments can address a looming crisis – IBV, 2017
•Outthink Aging – IBV, 2016
Patents
•System and Method to Minimize Phone and Online Fraud for Elders
•A comprehensive system to localize, communicate & interact with people during a natural disaster
•Smarter reception : a solution to manage visitors flow and access security.
Books
- Live Longer with AI: How artificial intelligence is helping us extend our healthspan and live better too
- co-authored, Packt, 2020
- Immortali, economia per nuovi highlander
- Egea / Bocconi University Press, Milan, Italy, 2019.
- Le infiltrate, donne e tecnologia, stereotipi e opportunità
- Egea / Bocconi University Press, Milan, Italy, 2016.
- Boomerang. Perché cent'anni di tecnologia non hanno (ancora) migliorato il mondo
- Egea / Bocconi University Press, Milan, Italy, 2014.
- Lavorare o Collaborare? Networking sociale e modelli organizzativi del futuro
- Egea / Bocconi University Press, Milan, Italy, 2012.
Teaching
Professor
Professor of Ageing, policy and planning
(Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK)
Adjunct Professor
Social Communication
(Faculty of Social and Pol. Sciences – Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy)