The Privacy Commissioner: "Beware of AI as an oracle. Minors are at risk; an alliance between institutions is needed."

We rush blindly toward the promises of artificial intelligence. Its enormous benefits are offset by extraordinary dangers to our lives. Privacy and data protection—the raw material of this revolution—are a bulwark against the excessive power of big tech and, more generally, all those exploiting the digital transformation to their advantage. But that's not all: Pasquale Stanzione, president of the Italian Data Protection Authority, in his speech for the 2025 annual report on July 15, where he outlined these concepts, called for profound collaboration across society, including parents, to protect what he calls "the human side" of the digital revolution. That is, us.

2024 – which the report reviews, but with an eye to 2025 and the future – was another challenging year, one in which the Italian Data Protection Authority (in collaboration with its European counterparts) pursued the many challenges arising from digital technology. Consider, for example, the still-unresolved problem of illegal telemarketing. The fines themselves are a mere fraction of the problems faced. In 2024, the Authority collected €24 million in fines. 835 collegial measures were adopted, of which 468 were corrective and punitive measures. The Authority responded to 4,090 complaints and 93,877 reports regarding, among other things, marketing and telematic networks; online data of public administrations; healthcare; justice, cyberbullying and revenge porn , cybersecurity; the banking and financial sector; and employment.

Overconfidence in AI

The most complex issues concern artificial intelligence, which is the topic of the president's speech.

"Today, anyone of us can use AI for any research, albeit with the risk of the anchor effect—that is, the tendency to rely on it without any critical thinking or desire for further investigation, with an almost oracular approach," said Stanzione. "Recent research shows that 66% of employees who use generative AI for professional reasons trust its results without evaluating their accuracy."

It's not just work, personal life, and health issues that are being addressed by the oracle. AI "is creeping into warfare tactics, fueling algorithmic warfare in the cognitive domain, with content manipulation, digital deterrence, and polarizing narratives." "Helmets integrated with augmented reality and AI are being developed to enhance soldiers' sensory capabilities." "In Ukraine, the Delta system provides predictive strategic analysis useful for guiding defensive action, while in Israel, Red Alert develops predictive models to anticipate evacuation times, protecting civilians."

AI has not yet replaced humans, but "it guides their decisions even in such a dramatically human arena as war, a field of flesh and blood that no algorithm can erase." The Guarantor lists the numerous benefits that AI offers, for example in healthcare and therapeutics. However, the incomparable benefits that AI can potentially offer can result in intolerable dangers in the absence of the necessary awareness that requires its use.

The dangers shouldn't be seen as the flipside of these advantages. The two sides are actually one, closely intertwined and always present together. Protecting rights and individuals is therefore a matter of orienting artificial intelligence as a whole, ensuring its power is well distributed and benefits the community.

The issue emerges most clearly when it comes to the most vulnerable. "This is especially true for minors who, as 'digital natives,' have an almost osmotic relationship with new technologies, with undeniable benefits (just think of the vast wealth of information unlocked by a single click) but also, at times, significant risks," says Stanzione.

Algorithms are often used to produce deepfakes , generally to the detriment of women or minorities; those who are deemed, by nature, representation, or circumstance, more vulnerable.

Furthermore, cases of child pornography generated by artificial intelligence are increasing, making the authorities' work extremely complex. "In just two years, there has been a 380% increase in the use of AI to create child pornography, sometimes based on real images supplied under pressure from minors themselves. Exposure among adolescents has increased by 35% for boys and 67% for girls over the same period."

“The Guarantor intervened, during the year, in response to requests for protection relating to the feared dissemination of artificial images using AI, expressing a form of abuse further than sextortion and revenge porn , which involved the Authority in 823 proceedings in 2024,” explains Stanzione.

Manipulated minors

There are also increasing cases of minors or other vulnerable individuals being manipulated by chatbots, even to the point of being pushed to extremes. "For many adolescents, chatbots have become true reference figures (Replika calls itself the "empathetic friend")." "Some even develop a sort of emotional, empathetic bond with these chatbots, also due to their often excessively flattering, absolving, and consoling tone, and their appearance as a safe haven where they can take refuge, sheltered from the judgment of others." "This is what is called the loop of infinite empathy, which generates dependency, leading to a devaluation of human relationships (which appear too complex and unsatisfying), thus leading to isolation. The investigation into the tragic disappearance of a very young girl is currently underway, with questions she asked ChatGpt about the "toxicity" of love and romantic relationships," says the Guarantor.

Work is one area where the benefits of digital technology come hand in hand with risks, especially when it comes to boosting worker productivity.

Beware of digital gangmastering

"The digitalization of work requires, moreover, some essential precautions to prevent the guarantees hard-won under labor law to redress the employee's vulnerability from being circumvented by mere technological shortcuts." "Data protection plays a central role in reconciling employer needs and worker freedom, especially in light of the innovations brought about by the gig economy, which must not degenerate into a form of digital gangmastering."

"Particularly significant, in this regard, is the measure adopted against a food delivery company that organized work through a platform, in the absence of the necessary safeguards for workers," says Stanzione. According to the Authority, data protection is a bulwark of rights in the digital revolution, "protecting the most profoundly 'human' component of innovation." "The absence of regulation," the Authority adds, "does not produce equality, but subordination to the imperatives of the market."

The risk of a "distorting effect, first and foremost in democratic terms, which European digital regulation, despite inevitable ups and downs, aims to counter by redrawing the scope of private power and placing technology at the service of the individual."

"We need digital pedagogy"

But how can this be done? The Guarantor emphasizes the need for action to be taken together, involving the various relevant European authorities (guarantors, law enforcement agencies first and foremost) and civil society. Consider, for example, what he says about minors: "It is important that access to these devices, and more generally, to the internet, does not occur alone." What he calls "digital pedagogy" is necessary. What is needed is "a common alliance of institutions and educational communities to promote digital awareness among minors. Schools are doing a lot; the Guarantor is at their side in this effort to develop digital citizenship."

"We need a culture of data protection"

Digital awareness, however, is a necessity for everyone—especially for those working in healthcare, where data is highly sensitive, the Authority notes. "It is increasingly necessary for public and private sector personnel to instill a comprehensive culture of data protection," it states. "Everyone must be aware of the importance of their actions in ensuring the security of the country's 'digital frontier': it is part of that digital culture without which no protection strategy is possible." "This awareness is the essential prerequisite for reforms that are not merely technical innovation, but instead establish real progress in terms of freedom and democratic guarantees," the Authority concludes.