Every day we hear news about Artificial Intelligence (AI), the different types of applications and how its use will change our lives. Games have been one of the mechanisms used by AI to test and improve its algorithms. Pluribus, for example, is an AI system developed by Facebook that reached a milestone by defeating five professional gamers. Teo is the first robot designed by UC3M to communicate in sign language. To do so, it was necessary to combine engineering with AI, mainly neural networks or artificial vision. In the field of health, the UK's National Health Service has announced a collaboration with Amazon so that users can make health queries to the virtual assistant. Another case of AI applied to healthcare is MedicSensors by Eduardo Jorgensen. Through this company, he has developed a system that consists of two parts: an intelligent algorithm connected to an application that communicates with the user and a skin patch that provides the insulin the body needs.
These are just a few examples of how AI can be applied to a multitude of industries. In most cases it will make people's tasks easier by becoming an additional aid to our daily work.
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The AI revolution is often compared to the electric power revolution; AI is a technology, or set of technologies, that affects almost everything and will be critical to the digital and analogue economy. Its evolution will shape the well-being and prosperity of every country. Currently the US and China are ahead of the curve in this area and Europe has lagged a little behind, and is asking all its members to develop an AI plan with their governments.
In the case of Spain, this report was published this year, led by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. The study concludes with seven recommendations, among which 3 fundamental points can be highlighted:
1) The need to establish a cross-cutting AI plan for the whole country.
2) The regulation of AI
3) The urgency of educational change: AI must be taught in schools and, given that it is a rapidly evolving discipline, curricula must be flexible enough to incorporate these changes.
If we analyse the situation of AI in Spain, we see that there is still a long way to go. A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), indicates that in Spain, investment in AI startups is only 3%This is far behind France, which has an investment of 13%, and the UK, with 55%. However, a study provided by the consultancy firm Roland Berger, argues that in the development of AI, investment by startups is key. This report argues that the four most important countries are the UK, France, Germany and Spain, which together contribute 60% of AI startups and communities compared to the rest of the 30 countries.
If we look at the Government AI readiness index, which shows the innovative capacity of each country to apply AI in public administrations, Spain is in twelfth place. Its areas for improvement are mainly in telecommunication infrastructures, innovation development or digital skills linked to both the public and private sectors.
Another recent McKinsey study "Addressing Europe's Digital and AI Gap" shows that companies identify the development of complementary strategies and workforce skills as a major influencing factor for AI adoption as Artificial Intelligence advances. Spain is in the bottom quartile in terms of AI skills, thus in a dire situation in terms of the potential of labour activities and the availability of scientists and engineers in this area.
These reports have in common that it is essential to improve opportunities for Spanish companies to recruit, retain and train (and for companies themselves to participate in this training) talent. with the necessary skills for AI technologies.
AI needs talent. Spain has plenty of good talent, but it needs to organise and sustain it. The ecosystem must drive a radical transformation in education at all levels of society and at all stages of life.
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The The evolution of artificial intelligence applications is exponential and this has meant that the demand for profiles with skills to work with Artificial Intelligence has also grown exponentially. and this has led to a flow of talent from one company to another, as well as a proliferation of all kinds of training programmes aimed at training new Artificial Intelligence experts.
Some studies predict that the AI could add around 14 trillion euros to the global economy by 2030. and double economic growth rates by 2035. This new situation would change the concept of work in this economically and socially transformative process. In addition, AI can provide a wide range of opportunities for companies to better understand their processes, the needs of their customers, and the business environment in general. We are facing endless opportunities, which require a cross-cutting country plan, as well as a revolution in the way we educate.
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Monica Villas
Data Science & Machine Learning Lead
English (UK)