Paolo Bonetti, digital entrepreneur from Milan, explains how AI is changing work and why human judgment cannot be delegated to algorithms
There is a phrase that Paolo Bonetti he often repeats to his clients: «AI does the work. The man decides whether it is worth doing.” It’s not one jokebut the synthesis of years spent building something concrete, far from the rhetoric of tech stages and apocalyptic prophecies. Bonetti is a management engineer from Milan, founder of Hybrid Digital Consultancy, an integrated ecosystem of over 100 professionals who work for brands such as Cartier, Ferrari and Esselunga. In short, an operator who uses artificial intelligence every day and knows its limits and potential very well.
The manifesto of the «Vibe Generation»
The project that Bonetti cares about most is perhaps called «Vibe Generation». More than a brand, it is a manifesto. The idea comes from the direct observation of how AI tools are changing not only production processes, but the role of people within these processes.
«Vibe Generation is strong for me, because it unites different generations», explains the engineer. «It’s not a technology just for young people: it’s a technology for everyone». The reference is to the so-called “vibe coding”, an approach to programming based on dialogue with artificial intelligence: you describe what you want and the system builds it. In this model sensitivity, taste and ability to interpret become central. Not the syntax, mind you, but rather the judgment.
Italy can compete, but not through technology
There dominant narrative about AI it almost always comes from Silicon Valley or Brussels. Bonetti represents something different, however: an Italian voice, built without venture capital funds, without headquarters in San Francisco, without the rhetoric of “scale quickly and break everything”.
Furthermore, its model has measurable numbers: more than 10 applications entered the top five of the Italian Apple Store, over five million overall downloads, more than one million participants in events managed through proprietary cashless platforms, a content production that exceeds 150 million organic views per month.
His thesis is uncomfortable for both sides of the AI debate. Artificial intelligence would not replace human competence, but would require a higher onerarer, more difficult to form. Anyone who thinks that just pressing a button is enough to obtain value is wrong. Those who fear being replaced by an algorithm are also wrong, but for different reasons.
From the Anthropocene to the Hybridocene
This reflection also took shape in Paolo Bonetti’s forthcoming book: «Inside the artificial revolution». The text describes the current historical phase as a transition from the “Anthropocene”, the era marked by human impact on the planet, to a possible “Hybridocene”: an era in which man coexists with increasingly advanced artificial intelligence systems, without dissolving in them.
Human value, in this scenario, does not decrease, but changes shape. “Discerning what is humanly relevant, what is right or wrong, what is beautiful or ugly will become increasingly important,” says Bonetti.
The problem, if anything, is that many companies know that AI brings added value but don’t know how to apply it concretely. Because of this, Hybrid Digital Consultancy works directly within companies, analyzing processes and identifying where automation and AI can improve efficiency and effectiveness. In some cases you gain speed. In others, the quality of the experience offered to customers is transformed.
The crux of governance
There is a piece of data that helps us understand where we really are. According to the «2026 Cpo Annual Pulse Report» of Efeso Management Consultants, 75 percent of European organizations are still experimenting with generative AI, only 20 percent have started a partial concrete application and just 5 percent declare widespread adoption. The gap between large companies (where regular use reaches 83 percent) and small and medium-sized companies (stationary at 38 percent) is structural.
The issue, evidently, is not technological. It is about governance: it is necessary to define clear objectives, measurable metrics, explicit responsibilities. Innovation, Bonetti claims, is not a question of tools. He is talented grafted into a method.
And this is probably precisely the real Italian challenge: not chasing American tech giants, but building a model in which human judgment governs AI, rather than being subjected to it.
