Conference Program

The rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly reshaping the relationship between work, learning, and social participation. This transformation generates new opportunities for empowerment, innovation, and organizational improvement, while simultaneously producing risks of skill polarisation and widening inequalities. In this context, understanding how adults use AI and how firms adopt it - within rapidly evolving technological ecosystems- becomes essential for reflecting on the role of lifelong learning as a lever for individual and collective agency, social inclusion, and democratic renewal (Di Rienzo, 2024).

This study offers an integrated reading of the AI modules included in the INAPP (The National Institute for Public Policy Analysis) INDACO‑Enterprises 2025 and INDACO‑Adults 2025 surveys, which provide some of the first systematic evidence on the topic in the Italian context. The analysis explores whether, and under which conditions, the digital transition can strengthen both individual and collective agency, or whether it may instead reinforce asymmetries in decision‑making processes and in access to learning opportunities.

On the individual side, the analysis explores AI‑related practices in personal and professional domains, the motivations behind adoption, participation in dedicated training activities, and the representations individuals construct around these technologies. Findings highlight diverse postures: alongside those who perceive AI as a tool for improving efficiency, supporting learning, and expanding autonomy, there are more cautious or critical attitudes, often related to concerns about employment consequences or the potential loss of control in decision‑making processes.

From the organisational perspective, the focus is placed on the ways AI is introduced into production and organizational processes, the drivers of its adoption, and the role played by training. The adoption of AI, particularly generative AI, often remains at a preliminary stage. More substantial transformative effects emerge primarily where complementary investments in digital infrastructures, data quality, and structured training programmes are in place, confirming evidence in the international literature (Lee et al., 2022; Solaimani et al., 2024). In this regard, training is not only a technical adaptation tool but a strategic arena in which access, understanding, and governance of technological changes are negotiated (Khanfar et al., 2025). Although the two INDACO surveys are methodologically autonomous, their integration makes it possible to observe potential misalignments between individual learning trajectories and organisational strategies, raising questions about the role of workplaces as adult learning environments. Grounded in the broader debate on lifelong learning as democratic infrastructure, the analysis suggests that the quality of the digital transition depends on the capacity to develop not only technical skills but also critical and ethical competences, ensuring inclusive access to learning opportunities. From this perspective, AI is not merely a productive technology but a terrain in which power relations, responsibilities, and participation opportunities are reconfigured. Analysing its intersection with adult learning thus means questioning the conditions for a more equitable, participatory, and democratically sustainable technological transition.