We live one age of technological advances It is an event that takes place at a dizzying pace and is irreversible, despite the fear it arouses in a part of society. Experts are clear: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tools produced by technological innovations will completely revolutionize the way we live, work, and relate to others, and they are already doing so.
But will this be for the best? Are there more advantages or dangers posed by these new tools? Will machines take control of our lives, as literature and cinema often predict?
These are the questions answered by the experts who attended the ‘Futuribles’ meeting yesterday, which is an initiative of the Prensa Ibérica group that tours the Spanish geography and reached Santiago under its leadership. GALLEGO MAIL. The goal of this conference cycle is to keep our finger on the pulse of technological innovation at a moment of particular importance like now. The meeting, held on Thursday at the AC Palacio del Carmen Hotel, brought together Telefónica’s Northern Region manager, Manuel Ángel Alonso; María Antonia Otero, a technology sector executive with extensive experience on boards, and Lois Orosa, director of the Galician Supercomputing Center CESGA.
All three agree that Artificial Intelligence is called upon to make our lives easier, but it also brings significant challenges. “It is another tool with complexity where everything moves very fast.Says Manuel Ángel Alonso, who believes that in this adaptation to the changes brought by artificial intelligence, “we must put people and values first.” “We must ensure that no one is left behind,” adds María Victoria Otero about an instrument that, as Lois Orosa recalls, “was born, like any technological advance, to make people’s lives easier.”
Galicia is by no means exempt from these successes. Telefónica’s Northern Region manager gave as an example a project the company carried out with the Ministry of Labor. Using AI to “improve employability” and we meet the needs of the labor market with the skills of job seekers. “It is a project that has attracted interest both in the rest of Spain, in Brussels and in the OECD,” he explains, because for the first time the public sector is approaching the needs of companies through Artificial Intelligence.
A technology Alonso remembers: “has been with us for decadesand about a year ago it gave way to a new type of artificial intelligence through generative AI, which represents a “huge qualitative leap” as it is capable of generating new knowledge. Example: GPT ChatIt needed only two months to add a hundred million users, compared to eight months for Tik Tok to reach the same number. “Computers have been able to recognize patterns they’ve seen before. But when you call a machine and it answers you without having seen that question before, it opens up a world of possibilities,” says Alonso, who believes the biggest challenge is “being able” to use those possibilities appropriately.
Technologies such as Chat GPT, where the user can establish a dialogue, also bring with them “many risks”, as María Antonia Otero claims. One of them has to do with the criteria that fed the machine in the past. “If there has been racial, gender or religious bias in the past, this will continue to happen,” he explains, while warning that the danger of fraud is increasing. “Bad guys use the same tools to see how they can attack us” he states. Call ‘CEO fraud‘ is an example of the problems that these technologies can create, where it is possible to impersonate many company executives thanks to artificial intelligence.
Einsteins of computers
Those that can provide greater security in the future quantum technologies The one we are working on can be described graphically as follows: Albert Einsteins of computers. According to Lois Orosa, these extraordinary electronic brains allow for “inherently secure” communication because “it is impossible for anyone to spy on them without you being aware of it.” However, the biggest contribution of quantum technology to Artificial Intelligence will be related to energy saving, as it will allow less consumption than artificial intelligence currently requires.
Certainly, CESGA has unveiled a pioneering quantum computer in Europe. “This is revolutionary today because it is the computer with the most qubits in the south of the continent,” Orosa emphasizes. “It is a commitment to the digitalization of the future“We are looking at the medium and long term and trying to create an ecosystem in Galicia around these technologies that will allow us to position ourselves strategically in this field,” he adds.
It’s a bet that Telefónica’s Northern Territory executive applauds. “We have a quantum computer in Galicia “This is a gift we should cherish, because it can give us very significant competitive advantages,” he continues, encouraging CESGA to “make the most of it.”
While we wait for quantum technologies to make a real impact on our lives, Artificial Intelligence is starting to revolutionize the business world. And there are many who fear that machines will destroy more jobs than they will create. In this sense, Manuel Ángel Alonso guarantees that artificial intelligence will not mean a decrease in employment, but will “change the way we work”.
“Jobs will increase and others will decrease,” adds María Antonia Otero, who thinks the million-dollar question is whether they can recycle lower value-added jobs and gain a foothold in this new world. “This is a big challenge“, says.
“If I had to prepare a report before, I would start with the first word and finish with the last word,” Alonso explains. “Now Is it possible to tell AI which report I want and how focused I can be while doing other things,” he exemplifies. In this scenario, he argues, “people with more education, more qualifications, and less resistance to change will adapt better.”
Along the same lines, Orosa points out that technology should help people do the most interesting tasks and machines do the most boring ones, like “putting screws in the factory.”
Where are the borders?
Another important aspect of a technology that is still in its infancy is arrangement. Should we put limits on Artificial Intelligence? Experts believe this, but in moderation, because excessive regulation at this time can slow down its development. “We should talk about governance rather than regulations,” says Alonso. “Europe is focused on regulation and should focus on progress,” says María Antonia Otero.
“With generative AI we can: reproduce your image, your voice and make you say things you’ve never said in a video. “There needs to be governance,” says Alonso, speaking of three levels: global principles, regulations where countries decide what can and cannot be done, and self-regulation where organizations and companies decide what they want. .
Otero and Alonso also agree on the importance of Europe making decisions that allow it to develop technology, not just consume it. Examples are many. From the first mobile phones appearing in Scandinavian countries to the MP3 emerging from a German laboratory. “These are technologies developed in Europe, but They made money abroad and this had a lot to do with the regulation that was followed.”Otero repeats.
One of the issues that interests experts most concerns the people who create and manage technologies. And at the ‘Futuribles’ meeting it became clear that: talent acquisition problem. In this context, the director of the Galicia Supercomputer Center explains that for Europe to lead technological development, “we need initiative, curious, talented people who will lead all these projects.” “As a public foundation, we do not have salaries as competitive as multinational companies, and we realize a huge staff shortage, especially in areas such as quantum technologies,” says Orosa. The manager of Telefónica’s Northern Region speaks along the same lines. “We have a talent gap “This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed from the ground up,” he says, adding: “There is a shortage of data scientists, engineers, mathematicians… but jobs need to be created to fill these positions.” to announce.
According to María Antonia Otero, the solution may lie in higher education. “I call on universities to align what is taught with what society needs,” she says. “They train people in specialties that may not be in demand“He warns, and technological tools need a wide variety of profiles that can work as a team. “It is a change that needs to happen,” he says.
The discussion also addressed the paradox that while machines are gaining ground in the workplace, there is a workforce shortage affecting countless professions that remains unanswered. According to María Victoria Otero, this problem may also be related to salaries. “We’ve gotten used to everything being low-cost and having to be paid for a job well done.”.
Go digital or perish
Regarding the future, experts gathered at the ‘Futuribles’ meeting believe that it is very important for companies large and small to understand this. digitizationbesides being necessaryIt’s a tool to help them get better.
“We are having difficulties in SMEs”says the manager of Telefónica’s Northern Region. “We all have to do pedagogy so that they understand there is no other way,” he says. In this sense, Manuel Ángel Alonso believes that the Management is making a lot of effort to ensure that business people know the keys to technology and do not let it slip away. “Everyone who does not digitalize will disappear” he assures.
Cesga’s Lois Orosa recognizes that many companies “are not even aware of how these technological innovation tools can help them in their business.” And we’re here to explain it to you. “This is about determining the appropriate solution to each company’s problems,” he says, citing as an example the project they have been developing with Finsa for five years, which enables the logging company’s processes to be optimized using artificial intelligence.
The ‘Futuribles’ meeting was attended, among others, by the Dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the University of Santiago. Ana Isabel Rodríguez; philosophy professor and theologian Xavier Varelaand professor and international policy analyst at Universidade da Coruña José Manuel Estevez Saá.