<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supercomputing is an industrial reality.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn the heart of Emilia-Romagna, in Bologna, the future has already begun to compute. It's called Leonardo, like the Renaissance genius, and it's currently the most powerful supercomputer in Europe for artificial intelligence. It's a machine capable of 250 quadrillion operations per second, but above all, it's a strategic platform available to universities, research centers, and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guiding its development is Francesco Ubertini, president of CINECA and former rector of the University of Bologna. His approach is direct, pragmatic, and data-driven, and he guides the reader through some of the most pressing challenges for Europe: digital sovereignty, technological leadership, and the impact of artificial intelligence on production systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leonardo is not a symbol. It's a tool. One hour of work on this supercomputer is equivalent to 900 years of calculation on a normal PC. But its true strength isn't just in its power: it's in the democratization of access. Businesses and institutions can now simulate, optimize, and predict. It's not just speed. It's decision-making capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the Leonardo supercomputer and what is it used for?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nLeonardo is the Europe's most powerful supercomputer for artificial intelligence<\/strong>and developed and managed by CINECA in Bologna. With a computing power of 250 petaflops (equivalent to 900 years of work from a normal PC in one hour), it is ranked among the top 10 supercomputers in the world according to the TOP500 list. It is accessible to universities, research centers, and businesses for advanced simulations, process optimizations, and predictive analyses. For Italian manufacturing, it represents a concrete strategic lever: not a distant future, but an operational tool already available.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt's not a question of \u201cif,\u201d but of \u201cwhen.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nArtificial intelligence is often portrayed as the latest trend, but for Ubertini, it's much more than that. The question isn't whether to adopt it, but when. And the time to wait is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The priority is to bring digital technologies into industrial processes, making them concrete levers for value and competitiveness. For Europe, the challenge is still open: with the first digital revolution, that of platforms, we lost ground. With AI and supercomputing, however, we still have time. We have a second chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI as the nervous system of businesses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAccording to Ubertini, artificial intelligence is not a magic wand. It is a cognitive infrastructure that integrates into processes like a nervous system. It will learn, adapt, and guide operational and strategic decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this to happen, it needs to be understood, managed, and directed. Otherwise, businesses risk remaining simple buyers of solutions produced elsewhere. The point, therefore, is not just to use AI, but to build the capacity to make it part of the company structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From technology taker to technology maker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nHere emerges a crucial passage: to move from technology adopter<\/strong> a Technology manufacturer<\/strong>. Only this way can industrial sovereignty be defended and Europe's role in the new global balance be consolidated.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt's not just about acquiring advanced technologies, but about developing skills, vision, and the ability to influence the models with which technology is designed and applied. It's a strategic issue, even before it's a technological one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real gap? It's cultural<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAccording to Francesco Ubertini, why do many companies struggle to adopt AI? \u201cThe problem isn't a lack of technology. The bottleneck is cultural.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn Italian SMEs, often There is a lack of awareness of where value is generated<\/strong>. We start with the data, but not with the problems. This makes it difficult to understand where to begin. A change in mindset is needed: start with the bottlenecks, ask ourselves where we can improve today, and don't multiply KPIs if the goal to be achieved is unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is a very concrete lesson: technology works when it addresses a real need, not when it's adopted as a generic response to complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governing uncertainty with supercomputing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn a world dominated by complexity, supercomputing becomes a tool for governing uncertainty. It doesn't say what will happen, but it helps simulate scenarios, evaluate impacts, and choose with greater clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Italian manufacturing, this is a strategic lever. It means moving from a reactive to a predictive logic, where decisions are not based solely on intuition, but on solid data and dynamic models. It is a shift in posture that strengthens companies' ability to face unstable markets and increasingly complex processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The youth: the most important capital<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nUbertini also looks at the new generations with great clarity. Young people are the most precious capital because they have skills that were difficult to even imagine at their age. But they live in a hyper-stimulated world and tend to stay superficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The educational challenge, therefore, is not just to transmit knowledge, but to teach how to ask the right questions, to delve deeper, to connect, and to reflect. Only then does intelligence, even artificial intelligence, become a tool at the service of human intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ecosystems, not lone heroes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nInnovation is never born in solitude. Strong ecosystems are needed, says Ubertini. Emilia-Romagna is an emblematic case: universities, businesses, research, and institutions that collaborate before competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It's the logic of pre-competitive cooperation: building the foundation together, and then competing on the final stretch. A vision that strengthens the territory and can help Europe not just be a consumer of technologies, but a protagonist of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The podcast interview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe full interview with Francesco Ubertini is inside the podcast FUTURE. Common Sense Conversations<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWatch the interview on You Tu<\/strong><\/a>b<\/a><\/strong>e<\/strong><\/a>
Listen to the interview on Spotify<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDeepen the book<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Leonardo is the Europe's most powerful supercomputer for artificial intelligence<\/strong>and developed and managed by CINECA in Bologna. With a computing power of 250 petaflops (equivalent to 900 years of work from a normal PC in one hour), it is ranked among the top 10 supercomputers in the world according to the TOP500 list. It is accessible to universities, research centers, and businesses for advanced simulations, process optimizations, and predictive analyses. For Italian manufacturing, it represents a concrete strategic lever: not a distant future, but an operational tool already available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as the latest trend, but for Ubertini, it's much more than that. The question isn't whether to adopt it, but when. And the time to wait is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The priority is to bring digital technologies into industrial processes, making them concrete levers for value and competitiveness. For Europe, the challenge is still open: with the first digital revolution, that of platforms, we lost ground. With AI and supercomputing, however, we still have time. We have a second chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Ubertini, artificial intelligence is not a magic wand. It is a cognitive infrastructure that integrates into processes like a nervous system. It will learn, adapt, and guide operational and strategic decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this to happen, it needs to be understood, managed, and directed. Otherwise, businesses risk remaining simple buyers of solutions produced elsewhere. The point, therefore, is not just to use AI, but to build the capacity to make it part of the company structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here emerges a crucial passage: to move from technology adopter<\/strong> a Technology manufacturer<\/strong>. Only this way can industrial sovereignty be defended and Europe's role in the new global balance be consolidated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It's not just about acquiring advanced technologies, but about developing skills, vision, and the ability to influence the models with which technology is designed and applied. It's a strategic issue, even before it's a technological one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Francesco Ubertini, why do many companies struggle to adopt AI? \u201cThe problem isn't a lack of technology. The bottleneck is cultural.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Italian SMEs, often There is a lack of awareness of where value is generated<\/strong>. We start with the data, but not with the problems. This makes it difficult to understand where to begin. A change in mindset is needed: start with the bottlenecks, ask ourselves where we can improve today, and don't multiply KPIs if the goal to be achieved is unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a very concrete lesson: technology works when it addresses a real need, not when it's adopted as a generic response to complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world dominated by complexity, supercomputing becomes a tool for governing uncertainty. It doesn't say what will happen, but it helps simulate scenarios, evaluate impacts, and choose with greater clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Italian manufacturing, this is a strategic lever. It means moving from a reactive to a predictive logic, where decisions are not based solely on intuition, but on solid data and dynamic models. It is a shift in posture that strengthens companies' ability to face unstable markets and increasingly complex processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ubertini also looks at the new generations with great clarity. Young people are the most precious capital because they have skills that were difficult to even imagine at their age. But they live in a hyper-stimulated world and tend to stay superficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The educational challenge, therefore, is not just to transmit knowledge, but to teach how to ask the right questions, to delve deeper, to connect, and to reflect. Only then does intelligence, even artificial intelligence, become a tool at the service of human intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Innovation is never born in solitude. Strong ecosystems are needed, says Ubertini. Emilia-Romagna is an emblematic case: universities, businesses, research, and institutions that collaborate before competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It's the logic of pre-competitive cooperation: building the foundation together, and then competing on the final stretch. A vision that strengthens the territory and can help Europe not just be a consumer of technologies, but a protagonist of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The full interview with Francesco Ubertini is inside the podcast FUTURE. Common Sense Conversations<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch the interview on You Tu<\/strong><\/a>b<\/a><\/strong>e<\/strong><\/a>It's not a question of \u201cif,\u201d but of \u201cwhen.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
AI as the nervous system of businesses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From technology taker to technology maker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The real gap? It's cultural<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Governing uncertainty with supercomputing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The youth: the most important capital<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ecosystems, not lone heroes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The podcast interview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Listen to the interview on Spotify<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDeepen the book<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.bonfiglioliconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fonte-preferita-google-1024x179.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":74033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_atf2_reviewers":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-transformation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n