A Provincial Indicator to Describe Potential Artificial Intelligence

The Europe 2020 strategy aims to ensure that the economic recovery of the European Union (EU) following the economic and financial crisis is accompanied by a series of reforms that lay solid foundations for growth and job creation from 2020 onwards. One of the key points of the strategy is to achieve smart growth, through the development of knowledge and innovation. For the purpose of a better understanding of the phenomenon to date, this study analyzes the potential use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in companies in the Italian provinces through a composite index (using the Equitable and Sustainable Welfare methodology) that measures the territorial gaps and their predisposition or not to the use of artificial intelligence which is an essential prerequisite for achieving intelligent growth. For this purpose, the present contribution unfolds with the following structure: – description of the theoretical reference framework and of the indicators used concerning “management software, cloud and digital investments”, “training”, “innovation and digital platforms” and “business relations”; – description of the methodology for the construction of the composite indicator to measure the potential provincial artificial intelligence; – description of the results, also through a geo-referenced map of the provinces potentially prone to the use of artificial intelligence; – conclusions.