ITALY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Enrico Maria Mancuso, Federico Bracalente, Marco Accorroni and Marco Mariotti, Herbert Smith Freehills Studio Legale
The roles that AI may play in the fight against corruption include the following: • analysing databases to identify complex patterns and anomalies that may indicate fraudulent or corrupt behaviour; • assisting in reviewing documents and data sources to identify corruption risks, using techniques like text mining and predictive analytics to detect suspicious behaviour and proactively prevent corruption risks; • collecting and analysing data in real time, providing 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 reporting; • streamlining operational tasks and review processes 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 qualitative analysis or expert knowledge; and • assisting regulators in disseminating and clar - ifying information relating to compliance with anti-corruption standards and procedures among business players, such as potential bidders in public tenders.
Italian public authorities have started acknowl - edging the potential of AI, especially in the field of anti-corruption. In March 2023, the Italian Par - liament introduced regulations governing the use of AI in managing public procurement, including assigning and monitoring the implementation of public contracts, to ensure transparency and fairness of the decision-making process 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 sec - tor is to enhance efficiency and transparency, the legislator expressly intended for the digitisa - tion and automatisation 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 investing significant resources in AI. In addi - tion to providing the public with access to a virtual assistant to enhance clarity on the anti- corruption legal framework, especially in rela - tion 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 Pub- blici CONSIP) providing for the study of potential applications of AI in the public procurement sec - tor, including monitoring of the implementation of public contracts.
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