Sergio Pappagallo
PhD Fellow in Human Sciences, Link Campus University
Philosopher of technology in Rome. I do academic research, design and run European projects, and build with artificial intelligence.
“Development can be seen, it is argued here, as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.”
About
In 2019 I worked as a librarian at Roma Tre University. Today I build knowledge systems with language models. In between, the question has stayed the same. How do people find, learn and keep what they need to know?
As a researcher I study it with philosophy and sociology. My doctorate at Link Campus University uses the Capability Approach to ask whether compulsory training widens the real freedom to learn of the people who work in local government.
As an independent public funding advisor I turn it into projects. Since 2023 I have managed Erasmus+ projects such as IPR4SC, UP2YOU and BUTH-AI, and I write proposals for Horizon Europe, MSCA, ERC, Erasmus+ and Creative Europe, also as Policy Associate for 89 Global in London.
With AI I teach and build. I trained in the ethics of AI and in its use, from prompt engineering to generative AI, and I have taught the ethics of AI to the Italian public administration and in the Erasmus+ project BUTH-AI. Today I teach professionals to use AI privately with local models and to work with context engineering, LLM wikis, RAG and process automation.
If one of these questions is yours too, write to me.
Sergio PappagalloPhilosopher of technology, Rome
Research
What does compulsory online training mean for the people who work in Italian and Spanish municipalities, and does it widen or narrow their real freedom to learn?
PhD Fellow in Human Sciences for Innovation, Inclusion and Sustainability at Link Campus University, Rome, 2024 to 2027. PNRR project AURORA, with Entropy Knowledge Network as industrial partner. Supervised by Prof. Stefania Capogna and Prof. Eliseo Sciarretta.
The Capability Approach of Sen, Nussbaum and Robeyns, the sociology of institutions and of lifelong learning, the philosophy of technology, the ethics and governance of AI.
Methods
Education and training
Publications and talks
Publications
- Beyond the Non-Human. Towards an Autonomous Theory of Machine Civilisation2026
- Balancing Innovation and Equity. An Analysis of the European AI Act2025
- Micro-Credentials and the Digital Transformation of Higher Education2025
- Chatbots in Education. A Dual Perspective on Innovation and Ethics2024
- The Emerging Role of Academic and Research Institutions2024
- Review of Oltre l’Habitus by Stefania Capogna2024
Talks
- Ethics of AI and Sustainable Digital Ecosystems. Beyond Technological Solutionism2025
- Micro-credentials and the digital transformation of higher education2025
- IPR4SC Final Conference2025
- The impact of automation on the liberal professions
European projects
Funded projects
- XRFESTEURO XR Festival Hub, Creative Europe CREA CULT, funded in 2026, 2027–29
- IPR4SCProject manager, Alliances for Innovation, 2023–25
- ECOLHEFinancial audit, KA203, 2023
- UP2YOUWork package 1, KA220-HED, 2023–25
- D-ChallengHEFinancial management, KA220-HED, 2023–24
- YOULEADERSImplementation, KA220-YOU, 2023–24
- BUTH-AITraining team, Building Trust in Human-Centric AI, 2026
Proposals written, 2025 and 2026
Horizon Europe Clusters 2, 5 and 6 · MSCA Doctoral Networks · MSCA Staff Exchanges · ERC Synergy · Erasmus+ CBHE · CB-VET · Erasmus Mundus · KA220 · Creative Europe
Fields of application
Culture, heritage and XR · Music and sound · Higher education in Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Western Balkans · Vocational training · AI and digital skills · Youth and innovation
Roles I take in a consortium
Project management · Dissemination and exploitation · Course and curriculum design · Research and evaluation
Methods
Logical framework · Work packages and Gantt charts · Risk registers and quality · Budgets from €0.5M to €4M · Reporting to EACEA and audit · Co-design jams
Training and positions
- Independent public funding advisor, also Policy Associate for EU Funds Acquisition at 89 Global and project manager of IPR4SC (2025)
- Project Officer for EU-funded projects, Link Campus University
- Introduction to Project Management, IBM
- European Business Law, Lund University
- Google Project Management certificate
- Google Digital Marketing certificate
- Innovative teaching-learning workshop, BE-COmS
Automation and AI
My training in the ethics of AI and in the use of AI.
Where I have taught, and what I teach professionals.
- Instructor, Ethics of AI
- Training team, AI ethics hackathons
- Trainer, Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 27 hours
- Guest lecture, AI in Education
- Private AI for professionals
- Working with AI for professionals
How I build. Local models, checked answers, automated work.
- Local and private AI
- Decision models
- Prompt and context engineering
- Harness and loop engineering
- LLM wiki
- Retrieval-augmented generation
- Independent verification
- Process automation
- Risk-based compliance
- Feasibility study and co-design of an AI knowledge base
Where I can help
Sensitive data keep you from using AI
You are a professional and your files are confidential. There is a framework for that. A procedure anonymises your documents on your own machine before any model reads them, so even the most sensitive material can be processed lawfully, usefully and in complete anonymity.
Your knowledge is scattered across many documents
An LLM wiki unifies how you manage that knowledge and brings it together in one place, so you can work with thousands of sources and every answer stays verified and traceable.
Write to me and we can set up a meeting. Set up a meeting
For a research question, a consortium or a course, write to me.
ser.pappagallo@gmail.comThe card catalogue
Every piece of work is a card in this cabinet. Read a whole drawer and your reader’s ticket gets its stamp.
The drawers are closed. Open one above.