Madrid, May 17. (Europe Press) – Senior business executives specializing in the technology sector argued on Tuesday for losing fear of artificial intelligence (AI), but they acknowledged the need for training and work to move towards ethical and sustainable AI.
This was revealed at the event Challenges of Artificial Intelligence. Opportunities and Challenges of AI in Enterprises’, part of Creating Opportunities, a Europa Press project in collaboration with consulting firm McKinsey & Company, seeks to share projects, successes, challenges and experiences of enterprise partners.
The meeting was attended by Director of Applications and Data at Aedas Homes, George Valero; Executive Director of BBVA’s Advanced Analytics Department, Marco Bonilla; Digitalization Manager, Enagás Technological and Financing Observatory, María Gonzalez; Director of Optional Programs at Esade Executive Education, Joseph Louis Kano; Benjamin Vieira, senior partner at McKinsey & Company; Bárbara Fernández, Associate of the Disruptive Innovation Department and Head of the Insurance_Space at Mapfre and Global Director of Product and Business Operations for IoT and Big Data at Telefónica Tech, Elena Gil Lizasoin.
Benjamin Vieira considers AI to be a “huge opportunity” because it can increase productivity and can be used by anyone, although he cautions about the high cost of implementing it.
“It brings a brutal transformation to any area,” said Jorge Valero of Aetas Homes, who highlighted its superior range and speed, a key decision in democratizing its use.
Marco Bonilla (BBVA) acknowledged that AI offers “many opportunities” and, at the banking level, will allow better interactions with users and transform the skills of workers, where ‘reskilling’ is essential.
From the energy sector, María González (Enagas) decided to integrate AI into the companies’ strategic plans, because without AI it would be “impossible” for Europe to achieve challenges such as decarbonisation.
“It’s true that AI is here to stay,” said Joseph Louis Cano, director of custom projects at Esade Executive Education, who asserted that “management cannot be separated from technology.”
Bárbara Fernández from Mapfre promised that AI is “a tool that makes life easier” and argued that if used efficiently, the next step should be to use it as “support”. And move towards its use for autonomous decision-making.
“We’re at a very sweet moment because of the AI revolution and the confluence of other technologies,” said Telefonica Tech’s Elena Gil.
It doesn’t change people anytime soon
Fears about the potential for AI to eliminate some jobs are on the table, but experts don’t see that as a reality in the short term. Vieira thinks that current AI is going to improve productivity “a lot”, but is “five or ten years away” from being used with a level of safety that would allow society to “replace a person”. Important decision.
Along the same lines, Jorge Valero (Etas Homes) considered the transition of people in “most positions” to AI to be “complicated” and saw “it having a greater impact on industries” at the moment. “.not technology”.
In the financial sector, Marco Bonilla (BBVA) does not believe that jobs will disappear in the short term, but pointed out that “they are undergoing a major transformation”, which is why companies should be available to employees and society, he argued. Establishing linkages with support mechanisms and universities.
“It affects all jobs more or less”, Maria González from Enagas, sees the role of public and private companies and organizations as “fundamental” in introducing AI in a sustainable and responsible manner.
From Esade, Kano points out that “AI is here to stay” and that those who don’t use it “will make life a little more complicated.” In addition, he warns that the lack of enough qualified professionals is creating “inflation” that needs to be balanced.
Bárbara Fernández has gone beyond technical knowledge and focused on developing non-technical serial skills such as critical thinking.
“AI robotization is going to de-robotize people so that we can focus on more human skills,” said Elena Gill, who advocated for “hybrid” profiles.
Expect regulation
According to Vieira, it is important to understand a “reasonable limit” that would increase productivity and allow technological innovation, but with some restrictions to “avoid things that have a very negative impact on society.”
From responsible AI watchdog Aetas Homes, Valero pointed to “highly relevant” ethical and training issues and highlighted the importance of discussing what kind of data can be used with AI models.
For his part, Marco Bonilla (BBVA) argued that companies should be “more responsible for gradually incorporating technology, but creating self-regulation”.
In the same sense, Maria González from Enagas warns that companies today cannot grow if they are not made sustainable and “one of the pillars of good governance”. To be done in a “responsible and sustainable” way.
“There must be regulation, but there must be a balance between safety and functionality”, pointed out Cano (Esade), while Bárbara Fernández (Mapfre) put the model of “responsible AI” on the table.
In the same sense, Elena Gil (Telefónica) wanted to achieve a “balance” between the protection of privacy and the growth of companies and the competitiveness of the country.
The challenge is to achieve an ethical AI
From Mckinsey & Company, Benjamim Vieira pointed out that the challenges of this technology are to achieve low-cost models and be able to use them in everyday operations, while Jorge Valero (Adas Homes) said that AI can help further. If one leads on the path of ethics, harm will result.
For Marco Bonilla, (BBVA) “the great challenge is to transform them from innovation experiments to real use cases” and there is no need to fear, but to go and prepare as Maria González (Enagas) points out. New technologies are the lever to achieve a transformation and sustainable world that is “not only sustainable but also digital”.
At the academic level, Esade is already training undergraduate students with AI because, according to Cano, these technologies will be part of life and “they need to know how to use it ethically.”
Bárbara Fernández, Mapfre, admits to being “optimistic” and believes the technology will help progress, but stresses the concept of “responsible AI”.
Elena Gill (Telefonica Tech) is founded on a “cautious optimism” that calls for “uniting our batteries as a community so that what emerges from this revolution is ethical, sustainable and people-centred”.
