The challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence for companies were the focus of this meeting, which was attended by leading figures from the economic and business spheres, as well as from the media..
PROA Communicationa consultancy firm specialising in designing, managing and consolidating the communication and corporate reputation of institutions and companies, as well as of senior executives, has held a new edition of its Current Affairs Dialogues with the participation of Alicia RichartGeneral Manager of Afiniti for Spain and Portugal.
Artificial intelligence presents a great opportunity for companies that know how to apply it correctly, and the sooner they start doing so, the more advantage they will gain over their competitors. "Companies are sitting on a treasure to be exploited," said Richart, an executive with extensive international experience and a true benchmark for digital transformation in Spain. Richart is also an advisor at the Universidad Europea and, throughout her career, she was founder of the DigitalEs association and recognised as a Digital Champion by the European Commission.
At the presentation of the Current Affairs Dialogue, Lucía CasanuevaThe partner-director of PROA Comunicación, highlighted the consultancy firm's vocation to always tackle "current issues such as the challenge of water, the future of communication and journalism, the US elections and the subject that concerns us today: artificial intelligence". "Far from being a futurible, AI has burst into our daily work and professional activity almost without us realising it, but today we already know that it has done so to change our lives in a way that we sense is irreversible. We are facing a change of era," said Casanueva.
"Many companies still have their data intact, so that gives you an idea of the huge business opportunity that exists. Knowledge is cumulative and the impact is exponential, so the sooner they get to work with AI, the more they will be ahead of their competitors," Richart explained.
At this meeting at the Madrid headquarters of PROA Comunicación, which was attended by executives from different companies, business associations and media representatives, the challenges posed by this new technology were also discussed. Compared to the traditional model, artificial intelligence presents "more sources of risk and opportunities for governance failure".
According to Richart, it is not yet possible to predict the true scope of the AI law approved by the European Union, which aims to regulate this technology according to a risk-based approach. This is in addition to other regulations such as those relating to data protection, which are stricter in Spain and Europe than in the United States and other countries, with the consequent impact on the business development of companies in the sector. "Europe should lead the development of AI instead of regulating it", said the executive, who also pointed out that companies carry out their own audits and controls both for security and to avoid negative biases in the models.
In terms of the risk of job displacement, Richart has proposed AI as a tool to support the performance of professionals: "A doctor will still have a job, but the one who uses artificial intelligence will be more likely to succeed in his or her diagnoses". "AI is an aid to automate tasks, but it will not replace creativity, which is the most interesting part, because the human brain has not yet been copied," he explained.
Along these lines, Casanueva stressed that "for those of us who work in communication, artificial intelligence is undoubtedly a generator of opportunities: new channels, languages and ways of consuming, of approaching brands, of building opinions about companies and people".
Finally, Afiniti's General Manager for Spain and Portugal pointed out that the first step a company must take to implement artificial intelligence "is to understand what business problem it wants to solve", and from there opt for one technology or another. "Identifying the problem is crucial and data scientists must understand it very well," she warned, as "any AI project is very difficult to implement, and it can take months for a model to become useful for generating revenue".
The Current Affairs Dialogues PROA Comunicación brings together key figures from the economic, political, media and cultural spheres with business people, executives and opinion leaders to contribute to a deeper knowledge of reality, and to foster an in-depth understanding of the issues that lead the news agenda.
