In collaboration with Oxfam, Riccardo Luna presents Qualcosa è andato storto (Solferino) at Giunti Odeon, together with Tomaso Montanari (Rector of the Università per Stranieri di Siena) and Roberto Barbieri (Director of Oxfam Italia). The event is moderated by Martina Pennisi (journalist at Corriere della Sera).

The Book:

For a long time, the internet and the web seemed like humanity’s most powerful tools for progress since the invention of the printing press or electricity. They were supposed to “break down walls and build bridges,” giving rise to the idea of “tech democracy”—a new era of democracy enhanced by the internet, open to direct citizen participation and oversight. It was the new promised land, where everyone would finally be happy.

Yet, as it has become clear, the web has instead become one of the most insidious tools undermining democracies. Over twenty years of social media, we have lost a shared vision of the future—a better world we could reach together. When, exactly, did this change occur? When did children stop dreaming of becoming astronauts and start wanting to be influencers and content creators? And why? Were we deluded, or was the deck of cards we were playing with rigged from the start?

Riccardo Luna poses these and other questions about the identity of today’s web, tracing its history back to its origins—before it was corrupted by the narcissism fueled by the digital economy, before algorithms amplified fake news simply because it drove traffic. The book takes readers on a journey through the epic of Silicon Valley: from the early days when tech entrepreneurs seemed benevolent, to the Big Tech pact with Donald Trump’s White House, and to the tragic events in Gaza, where grassroots use of social media helped bypass censorship and spark a global mobilization. A sign, perhaps, that nothing is entirely lost, and that there is still time to change the future.

The Author:

RICCARDO LUNA is one of Italy’s most authoritative journalists on innovation, technology, and sustainability. He was the first editor of Wired, served as the government’s Digital Champion at the EU, and has curated many successful events such as Stazione Futuro, the Maker Faire, Italian Tech Week, and the Venice Climate Week. A long-time contributor to la Repubblica, since 2025 he has been a columnist for Corriere della Sera.