ITALY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Enrico Maria Mancuso, Federico Bracalente, Marco Accorroni and Marco Mariotti, Herbert Smith Freehills
plex unless those who agreed or witnessed the agree - ment speak up and distance themselves from it and the benefits connected thereto. This regime provides a safe avenue to do that. Moreover, as Decree 24/2023 applies to both pub - lic and private entities, public entities are also tasked with facilitating the detection of misconduct, thereby extending the potential positive impact of this regime to both sides of the corrupt agreement. Artificial intelligence AI will increasingly play a crucial role in advancing anti-corruption efforts. By leveraging AI, both public enforcement authorities and corporations can detect, predict and mitigate corruption risks on a much larger scale and with greater efficiency, accelerating the shift from reactive to proactive preventive measures. The roles that AI may play in the fight against corrup - tion include the following: • analysing databases to identify complex patterns and anomalies that may indicate fraudulent or cor - rupt behaviour; • assisting in reviewing documents and data sources to identify corruption risks, using techniques like text mining and predictive analytics to detect sus - picious behaviour and proactively prevent corrup - tion risks; • collecting and analysing data in real time, provid - ing immediate feedback on potential vulnerabilities in complex systems such as financial systems or public procurement; • supporting investigations and internal audits, including with planning, data preparation and data review as well as root-cause analysis and report - ing; • streamlining operational tasks and review pro - cesses by analysing and organising large volumes
of text, such as those relating to audits, complaints or official documents, which would in turn allow a more efficient deployment of human resources, especially in areas of work that would require quali - tative analysis or expert knowledge; and • assisting regulators in disseminating and clarifying information relating to compliance with anti-cor - ruption standards and procedures among business players, such as potential bidders in public ten - ders. Italian public authorities have started acknowledging the potential of AI, especially in the field of anti-cor - ruption. In March 2023, the Italian Parliament intro - duced regulations governing the use of AI in managing public procurement, including assigning and monitor - ing the implementation of public contracts, to ensure transparency and fairness of the decision-making pro - cess as well as non-discrimination in algorithms (see Article 30 of Legislative Decree No 36 of 2023). While the primary purpose of the use of AI in this sector is to enhance efficiency and transparency, the legislator expressly intended for the digitisation and automatisa - tion of public procurement processes to also prevent corruption, as they “enable transparency, traceability, participation, and control of all activities, in order to ensure compliance with the law”. ANAC implemented this approach and started invest - ing significant resources in AI. In addition to providing the public with access to a virtual assistant to enhance clarity on the anti-corruption legal framework, espe - cially in relation to public procurement, ANAC has recently executed an agreement (in force as of 1 Janu - ary 2024) with the Italian Public Procurement Agency ( Concessionaria Servizi Informativi Pubblici CONSIP) providing for the study of potential applications of AI in the public procurement sector, including monitoring of the implementation of public contracts.
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