~ Notes
My master's degree has been a crazy journey.
The past year has been the most intense of my life but looking back I am filled with happiness, as I never thought I could enjoy my final year as a student of a degree so much. The following text is part of the acknowledgments of my Master's Degree thesis.
Acknowledgments
«Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backward 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life»1
We live in a complex world. Every day people are overwhelmed by news about how AI has already changed our lives; filtering and understanding them is not trivial. However, since AI has the potential to completely reshape the world we live in, we cannot just wait for it to happen, humanity has the duty to model it to leverage the real problems, and use it for the good.
To build this thesis I studied the human-robot interaction, because I believe that applying AI to this field can significantly benefit the elderly, people with disabilities, and those in need; ultimately serving humanity.
I cannot yet see the final picture; I must connect the dots and hope they will somehow connect in the future. This has been my approach since I was ten years younger, when I started attending a scientific high school. Each project, dot by dot, has led me to where I am today. The past year has been the most intense of my life but looking back I am filled with happiness, as I never thought I could enjoy my final year as a student of a degree so much. And the only reason I have come this far is thanks to the people who accompanied me on this journey.
Firstly, I want to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Prof. R.V., who taught me incredibly interesting concepts about Human-Robot Interaction and the Internet of Things, but also crucial lessons about Research, how to conduct it, and why it matters. He has always been able to support me during this journey, and I am truly grateful for what I achieved.2
A heartfelt thanks also go to Prof. S.C., Prof. R.C., Prof. G.B., and all the professors with whom I had the pleasure to have an inspiring conversation; for the guidance that these gave me in the last months during which I made important life choices for my future.
I deeply appreciate the entire team behind AImageLab, who hosted me during my internship and inspired me and my work. In particular, my thanks go to the research fellow R.C., who has been both an invaluable guide for my work and a good friend.
I am incredibly grateful to the MoRe Modena Racing Driverless team, its division leaders, and the mates of my working groups, for what they all represented to me during the last year. I feel I have grown significantly and have been enriched by this wonderful opportunity. The moments and those evenings I spent in the workshop with the team have been special and I felt incredibly motivated only thanks to the people in that team.
I truly believe that what made these years at the University so special are the people I met along the way. I sincerely thank everyone with whom I had the honor of collaborating on projects or simply sharing conversations over the past five years. I want, of course, to express my thankfulness to all the friends I met during my bachelor’s and master’s degrees for making the journey easier. I also want to thank all my other university fellows: I have never encountered such a friendly yet inspiring environment.
To my non-university friends, thank you so much. For the joy you brought me during these years, for the moments we spent together, for bearing with me all this time I was talking AI, for the deep conversation about the future, for the memes we shared during the exam sessions.
Finally, the biggest thanks goes to my parents, my brother, and my entire family. I would not been able to accomplish anything without you. You taught me the most important lessons of my life, and I love you.
Thesis’ Epigraph
«For if every instrument could accomplish its own work, obeying or anticipating the will of others, like the statues of Daedalus, or the tripods of Hephaestus, which, says the poet, “of their own accord entered the assembly of the Gods”; if, in like manner, the shuttle would weave and the plectrum touch the lyre without a hand to guide them, chief workmen would not want servants, nor masters slaves.» (Aristotle, Politics)
