Can a Machine Be Conscious? An Evening with Paolo Sironi in Milan.

On September 17, at the Ernestomeda Milano by Misura showroom on via Larga, the author of Quantum Sapiens led his audience into the biggest question of our time. A few steps away, two Liffo mini-kitchens were cooking dinner.

On Thursday, September 17, 2026, we opened "I Giovedì di Via Larga" ("Thursdays in Via Larga"), a series of evenings hosted by Liffo with Ernestomeda and Misura Arredamenti in Milan. Our guest was Paolo Sironi, author of the novel Quantum Sapiens, who spoke about artificial intelligence and human consciousness while two Liffo prepared dinner: proof, in a single night, that technology can give us back the time to be together.

What happened at the Paolo Sironi evening in Milan?

It was one of those late-summer evenings when Milan slows down, just a little. At via Larga 9, among Ernestomeda kitchens, pale wood and soft lighting, guests drifted in a few at a time: a glass of wine, a handshake, a curious glance at the two Liffo already switched on at the counter.

The program was simple, and that is what made it special: a talk, a dinner cooked live, and a conversation left to run without anyone watching the clock. Seating was limited and by invitation only, because we plan the via Larga evenings the way you would plan a dinner at home: around people, not around a stage.

Who is Paolo Sironi, and what is Quantum Sapiens about?

Paolo Sironi is the author of Quantum Sapiens, a novel built around the relationship between artificial intelligence and human consciousness. With him, the conversation took off right away. Can a machine be conscious? And if one day it could think, feel and choose, what would remain irreducibly ours?

These are questions people usually ask quietly, as a meal winds down. That night, they were the starting point. And instead of reaching for final answers, the room was happy to stay inside the questions.

What stays uniquely human as machines get smarter?

While the room was talking about artificial consciousness, something very concrete was happening. Two Liffo were cooking for everyone, entirely on their own: ingredients loaded in advance, the cooking handled from start to finish, timing and stirring left to the machine. No one at the stove. Everyone in the conversation.

For us, that is where the evening found its meaning. Artificial intelligence does not take our humanity away; it can give us back the time to live it. Time to hear someone out, to ask one more question, to linger at the table a little longer. The machine takes care of the how. The why is still ours.

Why was Liffo cooking during a talk about artificial intelligence?

Because Italian cooking has always been exactly this: a place where people come together. Liffo was born in Reggio Emilia, the home of tortellini, the small filled pasta of northern Italy's holiday tables, and of long Sunday lunches. It grew out of one clear idea: to put the most advanced technology to work for what truly matters, being together. Not to replace tradition, but to make more room for it in the lives of people who are short on time.

Seeing innovation and tradition in the same room, one that thinks and one that nourishes, was the most natural way to tell that story.

What did guests take home from the evening?

By the end of the night, people were saying very little about technology and a great deal about everything else: the beauty of the space, the warmth of the welcome, the passion behind every detail. Many guests thanked us for the thoughtful, convivial atmosphere, and for bringing such big themes into a September evening with such a light touch.

When are the next evenings on via Larga?

The series continued on October 15 with "Tartufo e Bollicine" (Truffles & Bubbles), the evening with the Ceretto winery, and carries on in November with an evening devoted to Parmigiano Reggiano, the protected-origin cheese made only in a small corner of northern Italy. The full program is on our partnership page with Ernestomeda and Misura Arredamenti.

If you would like to meet Liffo in person, you will find it at Ernestomeda Milano by Misura, via Larga 9, on non-event days too, or at one of our cooking shows. And if you have ever wondered what it would feel like to come home to dinner already made, you can discover Liffo here. We would love to see you at the next evening.