Massimiliano De Carolis speaks at the Montecitorio Meeting 2026.

Rome, Palazzo Montecitorio - Moving artificial intelligence beyond the boundaries of experimentation to turn it into a lever for industrial competitiveness requires solid foundations and a decisive evolution of networks. This is the core message shared by Massimiliano De Carolis, CEO of Sirti Digital Solutions, who spoke via video link from Vancouver at the Montecitorio Meeting 2026, held as part of the prestigious CEOforLIFE Awards: "AI is not just a matter of algorithms, but an infrastructural, industrial, and strategic challenge."

The event brought together leaders from the country's foremost industrial and technological organizations within the System Round Table | Scenario Analysis of the Productive World, a discussion panel focused on the strategic pillars of growth: Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Digital Transformation, Research, and Innovation.

Beyond the Algorithm: Challenges for Scaling to an Industrial Dimension

During the session titled "From the Digital Economy to the AI Economy: The Challenges Ahead to Achieve It on an Industrial Scale," De Carolis outlined an overview of the essential enabling conditions required to transform the theoretical potential of AI into concrete, measurable economic competitiveness.

The widespread adoption of advanced models shifts the priority focus from software to the underlying infrastructure:

• Energy and computing power: Scalability requires dedicated energy resources and data centers capable of handling ultra-high-density workloads.
• Network evolution and inference capacity: Distributing intelligence toward the edge demands ultra-reliable, ultra-low-latency telecommunications infrastructures.
• Integration into the physical world (Cyber-Physical Systems): Bringing AI into production processes, logistics, and critical facilities by connecting operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT).
• Data governance and cybersecurity by design: Ensuring data protection and operational resilience against emerging cyber threats in hybrid and complex environments.

The Role of Sirti Digital Solutions and the Value of Technological Sovereignty

In this landscape of profound transformation, Sirti Digital Solutions confirms its position as a key enabler for the AI Economy. The company brings together multidisciplinary engineering expertise, cutting-edge technologies, and end-to-end system integration capabilities to guide businesses and public entities from proof-of-concept to the industrialization of processes.

This path directly addresses the issue of national and European technological sovereignty. As highlighted by the CEO, true competitive independence does not lie in attempting to develop every single component of the value chain in-house, but in the mastery and industrial capability to design, integrate, and govern the digital architectures that drive their operation.

A Collaborative Dialogue for the Country System

The round table represented a crucial moment of synthesis among ICT operators, industrial supply chains, and the service sector.

The discussion reaffirmed the necessity of joining forces across supply chains: the transition toward the AI Economy represents an indispensable lever for modernizing the economic fabric, where networks, security, and on-the-ground implementation capabilities constitute the true differentiating factor for the digital future.