“The ongoing conflicts risk fuelling a new price spike“. The governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, speaking at the meeting “The Gold of Naples. Devotion, Money and Trust” at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. “The Board of Directors of the European Central Bank follows the evolution of the geopolitical situation with great attention, with a specific objective: prevent the resumption of an inflationary spiral like the one that hit all of us between 2021 and 2023,” he said.
For central banks – Panetta continued – the task of safeguarding confidence in times of uncertainty “passes through the money management. Money is, after all, a collective trust pactWhen we pay with a banknote, we assume that the recipient will accept it. When we set aside savings, we trust that tomorrow they will be as valuable as today. This silent pact between people is as old as the first coins. And central banks, over time, have become its guardians. guardians of that pact means two things: guaranteeing safe payments and preserving the value of money over time, that is keep inflation under control. Both of these tasks are under pressure today.”
IA, Panetta: "Understandable fears, but new opportunities."
Panetta then also addressed the issue ofArtificial intelligence declaring that he considers the fears of entrepreneurs and workers for the "understandable"impact of AI on work but remember how "history also teaches us something else: the transitions, however painful, have generated new opportunities, new professions, new prosperity." The governor then emphasized that "many are wondering what will remain of their profession in ten years – and it's not an easy question to answer." And yet "Italy and Europe have the resources, the skills, and the institutions to face this challenge as well."
The governor, in his introductory speech to the event, recalled how "in ancient times, in Athens as in Rome, grain supplies depended on distant sea routes; control of those routes became an instrument of power and, when it failed, a source of crisis. The analogies with the problems related to Strait of Hormuz are evident. And the anxiety that workers feel today in the face of the advance of artificial intelligence is not so different from that of English artisans and weavers during the Industrial Revolution.” “Uncertainty is an integral part of history, not just contemporary history. The task of institutions – including the one I represent – is precisely this: to maintain trust, even in times of greatest uncertainty,” he added, noting that “for central banks, this task involves managing the currency.”
