An international gathering of AI researchers and other experts convened in Italy in 1972 to discuss the ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence. This group, known as the “Serbelloni group,” met at Villa Serbelloni on Lake Como.
Led by Donald Michie, who was then the director of the University of Edinburgh’s department of machine intelligence, the experts identified early concerns. These included potential political tyranny, the erosion of human autonomy, and widespread social coercion driven by automation.
The following year, in 1973, the UK reduced research funding for machine learning, robotics, and AI. This decision followed the Lighthill report, which has since been documented as being established for this purpose. Researchers were subsequently required to focus on work with more immediate industrial relevance, and attempts to reconvene the Serbelloni group with humanities experts were unsuccessful.