Panetta: AI and finance key to Italy's productivity revival
Banca d'Italia Governor Fabio Panetta opened a conference on July 2, 2026, emphasizing artificial intelligence and finance as crucial levers for Italy's and Europe's growth. The event was jointly organized by Banca d'Italia and the European Investment Bank.
AI's rapid advance reshapes sectors
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly integrated into production processes, services, research, and daily life, demanding swift action from firms, institutions, and the financial system.
Governor Panetta highlighted two recent developments: the emergence of 'AI agents' capable of complex, autonomous tasks, and the launch of portable devices with significant computing power.
These advances are set to expand AI's adoption by lowering costs and removing barriers, particularly benefiting manufacturing through optimized energy use, waste reduction, and accelerated design processes.
Panetta reiterated his view that the broad and timely diffusion of AI can significantly contribute to reviving productivity in Italy, leveraging the country's deep industrial capabilities and specialized production systems.
Beyond manufacturing, AI promises faster and more accurate diagnoses in medicine, improving care pathways and drug development, directly translating technological progress into human well-being.
Patient capital for intangible investments
The transformative speed of AI necessitates careful management of the transition, requiring substantial investments in skills, support for exposed workers, and ensuring widespread benefits across firms, sectors, and regions.
Panetta stressed the importance of ensuring AI remains at the service of people, upholding the dignity of work, responsibility, and freedom, echoing appeals from Pope Leo XIV and President Mattarella.
This transformation demands large, often intangible, investments in research, software, data, skills, and organization.
These investments are inherently risky, difficult to assess externally, and have uncertain returns that may only materialize over time.
The financial system plays a critical role here, as adequate, patient finance, risk capital, and deeper markets are essential to translate innovation into growth, employment, and competitiveness.
Opportunity demands decisive action
Italy and Europe possess the foundational resources—savings, research capacity, firms, and skills—yet often fail to mobilize capital at the scale required for ambitious projects.
This speech underscores a critical juncture where technological potential meets financial necessity, demanding a concerted effort to bridge the gap.
The challenge is clear: ensure AI becomes a broad-based driver of development, not just a technological frontier, by building robust financial conditions for this transformation across the continent.