Prof. Anis Sefidanis Brings AI and Transhumanism to the Digital Security Festival in Italy
Prof. Anis Sefidanis, founder of Sefidanis and Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at the Faculty of Applied IT, Machine Intelligence and Robotics (AITMIR) at UIST “St. Paul the Apostle” in Ohrid, was invited to Italy as one of the international special guests of the 2024 Digital Security Festival (DSF). The festival’s organizers, together with Macedonian and international media, highlighted his role as a leading expert on artificial intelligence, transhumanism and “digital humanity,” underlining how his work connects deep-tech innovation with culture and ethics. Digital Security Festival+1
Digital Security Festival 2024, held from 18 October to 8 November across several cities in North-East Italy, focused on the theme “Umanocentrico per natura” (“Human-centric by nature”). With ten in-person events, four online sessions and more than fifty speakers, DSF gathered experts from Italy and abroad to discuss cyber security, artificial intelligence and the broader social impact of digital technologies. OhridPress+3Digital Security Festival+3Digital Security Festival+3 In local coverage from Ohrid, Prof. Sefidanis was presented as one of the key international guests of the new festival edition, reinforcing the symbolic bridge between Ohrid’s academic ecosystem and one of Italy’s most dynamic digital-security initiatives. OhridPress+1
The festival’s opening event took place in Udine, in the institutional setting of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Palace, where Prof. Sefidanis delivered a keynote talk titled “Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism: How to Redefine Human Potential?” Addressing a full hall that included many high-school classes, he explored how advanced technologies can augment human capabilities while forcing societies to rethink long-standing assumptions about work, creativity and identity. Digital Security Festival+2Digital Security Festival+2
A central part of his talk focused on the intersection between AI and cultural heritage through his series of “digital humanity” projects. Among the examples he presented was Smart Monument, a technological monument that uses artificial intelligence, holographic projection and immersive technologies to “bring back to life” a Macedonian poet, recreating not only the author’s visual presence but also his local dialect and way of speaking. Digital Security Festival+1 By allowing visitors to converse with a historically important literary figure in his authentic linguistic register, the project demonstrates how emerging technologies can help preserve and revitalize fragile dialects and cultural memories instead of erasing them. Prof. Sefidanis emphasized that dialects are the roots of modern standardized languages and therefore essential to personal and collective identity, arguing that AI should be used to protect this diversity rather than flatten it. Digital Security Festival
From there, the lecture moved into a deeper exploration of artificial intelligence and transhumanism. Prof. Sefidanis distinguished between so-called “weak AI,” designed to solve narrowly defined tasks, and “strong AI,” which aims to approximate general human intelligence across many contexts. He described current systems as powerful yet ultimately narrow extensions of human abilities, already woven into everyday life through navigation tools, mobility algorithms and a growing number of decision-support systems that often work “behind the scenes” without users noticing. Digital Security Festival+1 At the same time, he drew attention to the ethical risks: algorithms can replicate and amplify human bias, and without clear governance and regulation, AI may deepen inequality or undermine trust rather than deliver progress.
The medical field served as a key example of the transformative potential of AI. Prof. Sefidanis discussed cutting-edge models capable of identifying early signals of diseases such as cancer years before traditional diagnostic methods, turning healthcare into a proactive rather than reactive system. Used responsibly, he argued, such tools can dramatically extend healthy life expectancy and improve quality of care; misused, they could compromise privacy or create new forms of discrimination. Digital Security Festival+1
Another highlight was his work on embodied AI and robotics in the arts. DSF’s profile of Prof. Sefidanis singled out his development of the world’s first humanoid DJ robot, which blends artificial intelligence, robotic manipulation and creative performance. Digital Security Festival+1 Demonstrated as a live “experiment” in the interplay between human and machine, the DJ robot raises questions about what happens when algorithms step onto the stage in domains traditionally reserved for human creativity. During his keynote, Prof. Sefidanis stressed that coexistence between humans and robots is not problematic in itself; the real issues arise when automation threatens people’s safety, dignity or livelihood. For that reason, he called for a careful balance between innovation, social responsibility and new forms of human–robot collaboration in culture, entertainment and industry. Digital Security Festival+1
To place today’s debates in a longer perspective, Prof. Sefidanis closed with a historical and philosophical reflection. He recalled Talos, the mythological bronze giant from ancient Crete, often described as one of the earliest “robot” figures in human imagination, and traced the modern term “robot” back to the Slavic word “robota,” meaning “work.” These stories, he suggested, show that fascination and fear around artificial beings are not new; they mirror our own ambivalence about tools that can both liberate and control us. The key question, he concluded, is not whether AI is dangerous in itself, but how humanity chooses to design, deploy and govern it. Digital Security Festival+1
For Sefidanis as a company and research ecosystem, participation in the Digital Security Festival represents more than a prestigious speaking engagement. DSF has become one of Italy’s most relevant platforms for promoting digital security culture and human-centric innovation, recognized nationally and at EU level and recently awarded for its contribution to public awareness. Digital Security Festival+2Il Ponte Codroipo+2 By bringing to this stage his vision of “digital humanity” – where smart monuments, humanoid robots and AI-driven healthcare systems are developed with ethics, empathy and cultural heritage at the core – Prof. Sefidanis helped position North Macedonia and the wider Western Balkans as active contributors to the European conversation on the future of AI.
His keynote in Udine and the subsequent Italian and Macedonian media coverage further strengthened Sefidanis’ international profile as a bridge between deep-tech entrepreneurship, higher education and social impact. The collaboration with the Digital Security Festival is expected to continue in future editions, creating new opportunities for joint projects, educational exchanges and cross-border initiatives that promote safe, ethical and human-centred artificial intelligence. Digital Security Festival+2Digital Security Festival+2
References and original publication dates
Digital Security Festival, “Anis Sefidanis: intelligenza artificiale e transumanesimo al Digital Security Festival,” News 2024/2025, published 3 January 2025. Digital Security Festival
Digital Security Festival, “Anis Sefidanis, esperto di AI, ospite internazionale del Digital Security Festival,” News 2024, published 11 October 2024. Digital Security Festival
OhridPress, “Проф. д-р Анис Сефиданис ќе биде специјален гостин на Digital Security Festival во Италија” (“Prof. Dr. Anis Sefidanis will be a special guest at the Digital Security Festival in Italy”), published 10 October 2024. OhridPress
Digital Security Festival, “Comunicato stampa: Lancio del Digital Security Festival 2024 – ‘Umanocentrico per natura’,” press release launching the sixth edition of DSF 2024, published 16 October 2024. Digital Security Festival
Digital Security Festival and partner media, overview articles on the 2024 edition and its human-centric theme, including RedHotCyber (28 November 2024), BitMAT (16 October 2024) and DSF’s own post-event summary (16 November 2024). Digital Security Festival+2BitMat+2
