I rolled up my sleeves once again to dive into the world of artificial intelligence with someone I deeply admire: Filippo Zanella, Principal AI at Salesforce, professor at H-Farm College, and one of the most insightful voices in the Italian AI community.
This wasn’t just a tech chat — it was a full-spectrum exploration of what AI means for creativity, ethics, and our daily work as humans surrounded (and sometimes overwhelmed) by algorithms.
From Coding to Curiosity: Filippo’s Journey
Filippo shared his path from software engineer and entrepreneur to his current role at Salesforce, where he helps customers embrace AI responsibly through Agentforce, Salesforce’s agentic AI framework.
His academic side adds depth: he teaches AI and Generative AI courses at H-Farm College, blending technical rigor with real-world application.
And yes, he also confessed a surprising passion — cooking. Turns out the logic of a good recipe isn’t so far from writing good code: structure, creativity, and iteration.
Learning in the Age of Infinite Innovation
One of the most powerful parts of our talk was about learning to stay human in a world that evolves faster than we can read the news.
We both reflected on the impostor syndrome that many developers (and AI professionals) feel — that sense of never knowing enough. Filippo’s advice was simple and profound: set small learning rewards, one bit at a time.
He reminded me that growth doesn’t come from knowing everything, but from consistency and curiosity — learning one new thing every day, even something tiny.
AI Hallucinations, Ethics, and the Hawking Paradox
We dove into one of Filippo’s recent posts where he quoted Stephen Hawking:
“The computer answered: ‘Now there is.’ And it melted the plug.”
That darkly humorous image opened a deep discussion about AI ethics — how to control a technology potentially smarter than us, and why fear isn’t the answer.
Filippo believes, like Hawking, that our future depends on vision, rules, and responsibility — not on panic.
We also tackled the topic of AI hallucinations — those moments when models “invent” facts. Filippo explained how Salesforce’s Trust Layer approach seeks to reduce these risks, while still preserving that spark of creative unpredictability that sometimes leads to innovation.
Because, let’s be honest: every great human discovery began with a “hallucination” — a crazy idea that just might be true.
Managing Knowledge, Managing Chaos
Another topic close to both our hearts: knowledge management.
We talked about the challenge of keeping our digital lives organized — notes, links, transcripts, Confluence pages, Notion boards, random ideas — and how AI could (someday) become the ultimate personal librarian.
Until then, we’re both still wrestling with our messy desktops.
AI, the Bubble, and the Future Ahead
When asked about the so-called AI bubble, Filippo took a balanced view: yes, the hype will deflate, as every tech wave does, but the foundations being laid now are real.
He compared today’s moment to the early days of computing — when developers had to fit programs into a few kilobytes of memory.
What we’re living now is that same pioneering spirit, amplified by neural networks and GPU clusters.
Looking further ahead, Filippo sees huge promise in robotics and quantum computing, not as threats, but as natural evolutions of our relationship with technology — tools to extend our humanity, not replace it.
Awe, Fear, and the Childlike Wonder of AI
To close, I asked Filippo what still surprises him, what he wants to learn, and what scares him about AI.
He admitted that he still feels a sense of awe every day — whether it’s asking an AI to explain a scene from a TV show or seeing how it can assist students in learning to code.
He’s currently exploring reasoning engines and memory systems for multi-agent architectures, because curiosity, he says, is the best antidote to fear.
What scares him? The misuse of AI for manipulation and harm — from cybercrime to deepfakes.
But as he reminded me: technology itself isn’t evil. It’s a mirror of who we are.
A Closing Thought
Talking with Filippo reminded me why I started Nerd @ Work Lab in the first place.
To experiment, to stay amazed, to bring back that sense of wonder — even when surrounded by code, APIs, and deadlines.
AI is not magic.
It’s just another way to learn what it means to be human.