For an intelligent use of Artificial Intelligence

For the A.Y. 2025/2026, a new artificial intelligence course is proposed for all students of Università Cattolica, with completely renewed and enriched content.
The initiative, organized by the University Labs Humane Technology Lab - HTLab and Teaching and Learning Lab - TeLeLab, represents the evolution of the project Towards an Intelligent Future: Foundations of AI for the University Generation.

The programme is conceived as a space for critical and multidisciplinary reflection aimed at understanding how AI is transforming society, the economy, creative processes, educational practices, and even our own categories of thought.

Through a theoretical and applied approach, the course aims to provide students with cultural tools and foundational skills to navigate the conscious and responsible use of a technology destined to profoundly shape both the present and the future.

The course consists of six sessions, held on Saturday mornings from 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., in person at the Milan campus and via live connection from the campuses of Brescia, Cremona, Piacenza and Rome.

Objectives

• To foster a critical understanding of the role of AI in cultural, social, and economic transformation, with particular attention to historical and humanistic perspectives.
• To develop the ability to analyse opportunities and risks related to AI in the fields of learning, creativity, and innovation.
• To introduce students to the fundamental principles underlying AI systems (especially Large Language Models) and to effective interaction practices through advanced prompting techniques. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyze the role of artificial intelligence in social, economic and cultural transformation.
2. Understand the main historical and conceptual developments of AI, with a focus on ethical and humanistic issues.
3. Assess opportunities and risks of AI in creative, educational, and professional contexts.
4. Interact consciously with AI systems, applying prompting techniques for Large Language Models.
5. Communicate AI-related topics in an interdisciplinary and well-argued manner, with particular attention to responsible use.

Structure

• Duration: 24 hours in total, divided into 6 sessions of 4 hours each.
• Schedule: Saturday 25 October, 8, 15, 22 and 29 November, 13 December 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Format: in person, at the Milan campus of Università Cattolica; live streaming at the campuses of Brescia, Cremona, Piacenza and Rome.
• Registration deadline: Wednesday, 22 October 2025. 
• Open Badge: issued at the end of the Course to participants who have fully attended at least 4 out of 6 in-person sessions, certifying the knowledge and skills acquired.

Programme

1. Artificial intelligence between science and prophecy 
Will AI really be the revolution of the future? This question concerns experts, but above all the generation that is already beginning to build that future. This session will explore how we understand AI systems, their role in our lives, and how to learn to use them responsibly. What questions do we ask of science and wisdom that machines cannot answer? What will change with the widespread use of AI software? Which aspects of our lives will be transformed? Will these changes be substantial or merely superficial? Who are the young people who will govern this transformation? These issues will be discussed in the aftermath of a true technological and media storm.
Don Luca Peyron - Università Cattolica
Extended: The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Technologies in Creativity and LearningThis lecture explores how Artificial Intelligence and virtual technologies are changing the way people think, create, and learn. Through the concept of the “extended mind,” we will examine how these tools can enhance imagination and learning capabilities, not merely as supports but as true “cognitive partners.” Concrete case studies from creative, organizational, and educational contexts will illustrate how human–machine collaboration is opening unprecedented spaces for innovation and experience. The session will conclude with a discussion of the ethical implications of a future that has already begun.
Andrea Gaggioli - Università Cattolica
Dates: 25 October 2025 (4 hours)

2. 10 questions about Artificial Intelligence
This lecture provides a conceptual framework to understand the origins and functioning of Artificial Intelligence technologies, their underlying logical foundations, and their distinctive features compared to other information technologies.
The topic will be addressed through ten key questions—questions many of us have asked at various moments in our lives—to which we will attempt to provide answers.
Ciro De Florio -Università Cattolica
Date: 8 November 2025 (4 hours)

3. Socio-Economic History of AI
Processes of digitalisation and economic disruption are generating a widespread sense of disorientation in interpreting the effects of progress. This module aims to provide historical and socio-economic tools that, when appropriately adapted, can complement and enrich a purely mechanistic and computational understanding of ongoing AI-related transformations.
Designed from the outset with a multidisciplinary approach, the module seeks to integrate new interpretative frameworks for understanding the historical transition from an analogue society to a fully digital one. More specifically, its primary objective is to introduce the “humanistic” dimensions that, throughout ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary history, have contributed to the success and diffusion of artificial intelligence.
Massimo Sideri – Corriere della Sera
Dates: 15, 22, 29 November 2025 (12 hours)

4. Artificial Intelligence - Introduction to the architecture of Large Language Models and advanced prompting techniques
This lecture introduces the core concepts underlying the architecture of AI systems based on Large Language Models (LLMs). Various prompting techniques for effective and efficient use of these systems will be presented. The session will also include demonstrations with examples and use cases to illustrate both proper usage and the limitations of LLMs.
Giovanni Moretti and Marco Passarotti - Università Cattolica
Date: 13 December 2025 (4 hours)