The Philosopher Of Fashion Embraces AI: Brunello Cucinelli’s Humanistic Vision For Technology

In the picturesque hills of Solomeo, Italy, where ancient traditions blend seamlessly with modern luxury, new technology incubations are taking place. Brunello Cucinelli, known as the “King of Cashmere”, is venturing into the ever-accelerating world of artificial intelligence. This is not just a fashion house dabbling in tech trends, but a carefully considered approach to integrating AI with human values, led by a man who has always put humanity at the center of his business.

Francesco Bottigliero, Brunello Cucinelli’s Chief of Humanistic Technology, explains the company’s approach: “We believe that human beings shape technology, but at the same time, technology shapes human beings. We are not concerned about humans getting replaced by AI, because we believe human beings express desire, explore creativity, and ultimately make decisions.”

Though Cucinell’s excitement for AI has only become more publicized recently, the company has been an early adopter of the technology for many years. In late 2021, Cucinelli formed a team of researchers from diverse fields – mathematics, engineering, philosophy, and the arts – to explore how his company could adopt AI while respecting human values. This led to the creation of Solomei AI, a new company created to research and build new projects based on AI.

Solomei AI’s first project is called Callimacus, named for the ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian. Callimacus is a new platform that uses AI to dynamically build and edit websites, and

showcases a new paradigm in how e-commerce websites could be conceived and operated. “We envisioned new websites where content, when no longer confined within pages, can flow freely,” Bottigliero shares. “It’s a new technology that allows for the creation of sites capable of composing and organizing content in real-time as users navigate.” The company plans to launch Solomei AI more broadly next year, after receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from peers in the fashion industry.

Cucinelli’s involvement in technology also extends beyond his own industry. In recent years, he has developed close ties with Silicon Valley, forming relationships with tech magnates like Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn. In 2019, Cucinelli hosted his first ever Symposium, a phone-free gathering where attendees shared new ideas over food and wine. A second symposium followed in 2023, bringing together investors, actors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and philosophers from 14 different countries to discuss AI and creativity. “We will actually publish the outcome of the 2023 symposium in the coming months, before Christmas this year” Bottigliero reveals, hinting at the valuable insights that emerged from these cross-disciplinary discussions.

Besides incubating Solomei AI in-house, Cucinelli also invested in external projects focused on science and human advancement. Cucinelli’s approach to technology investing is as thoughtful and selective as his approach to fashion. “We are not VCs or professional investors,” Bottigliero clarifies. “We invest when we find a good idea we want to support and help nurture.” This philosophy has led to investments in companies like Groq, the upstart AI chip manufacturer, as well as TES Pharma, an AI for drug discovery company founded by Italian Professor Roberto Pellicciari. The latter investment highlights one of the areas that most excites Bottigliero and Cucinelli: using AI to help humanity live better.

Even as AI seems omnipresent, Cucinelli remains grounded in his core identity. “At the end of the day, we are a manufacturing company,” Bottigliero reminds me. “We’re most excited to find AI applications in manufacturing. So many people are building ‘AI copilots’ for various computer jobs, but there are not yet many ‘copilots’ for physical jobs,” Bottigliero notes. He’s right: applications of AI in physical manufacturing seem overlooked in the current AI boom. “We hope to inspire more entrepreneurs to explore the intersection of AI and fashion manufacturing.”

AI is not the only frontier technology the company is exploring. With the new EU Digital Product Passport regulations, the brand has been closely following the directions of regulators. Cucinelli’s peers in the luxury fashion industry have embraced blockchain as one solution to the DPP proposals; one example is the non-profit organization Aura Blockchain Consortium, with founding members including LVMH, OTB Group, Prada and Cartier. Bottigliero believes that blockchain technology could play an important role in the fashion industry for this reason: providing provenance of physical luxury goods. However, he emphasizes that such technologies need to become more easily understandable and manageable by end consumers.

As the fashion world watches Brunello Cucinelli’s technological ventures with great interest, one thing is clear: the company remains committed to its humanistic principles. “We want to always balance technology with humanity, and have a positive impact,” Bottigliero reiterates. It’s a simple statement that expresses Cucinelli’s uniquely human-centered vision of our AI-enabled future taking shape, one cashmere sweater – and one line of code – at a time.