There is no doubt, the next step in the revolution driven by digitalization is the arrival of artificial intelligence. Although today there are still only 10% of companies that have an AI plan integrated into their business strategy, 36% admit that they are in the process and in only one in four it does not enter into their medium-term forecasts. These are data that emerge from the Ascendat Digital Maturity 2024 Report that Minsait, an Indra company, publishes annually and which in this edition has been prepared from the information collected from more than 900 organizations, from Spain and other countries, representatives of 15 sectors.

Despite this low level of maturity regarding the incorporation of AI, the conviction is widespread that it will transform the way we live, how we work and interact with the world. Its challenges? The balance between the opportunity it represents and the management of its risks. Risks that the European AI Act (AI Act) seeks to minimize, a proposal for a European regulation that aims to encourage its use but without losing sight of the protection of rights and freedoms and which represents the first specific regulation for artificial intelligence from a regulator important throughout the world. A regulatory framework that has been welcomed but has not yet prevented 31% of the participants in the Report from admitting that the instability of its regulation and the absence of a stable regulatory framework that encourages responsible use and compliance with privacy represent one of the great barriers to increasing its adoption.

Two other brakes lie ahead: the shortage of suitable professionals and, as the main cause for its non-adoption, the lack of vision and understanding on the part of the management layers about the value of AI and its growth potential for the business. as 35% point out. In response, Luis Abril, executive director of Indra and general director of Minsait, recalls that “As has always happened with other major revolutions, AI represents a disruption in various areas of society and is accompanied by a series of challenges that will be to manage. These challenges include protecting data privacy and security, preventing bias and discrimination, sustainably managing the resources needed to use AI, and managing the impact it may have on the market. labor. And, ultimately, respond to these challenges to continue moving towards a model of society where new technologies are at the service of people.”

Minsait has identified an emergence of use cases, especially generative AI, in much earlier stages than other emerging technologies, which shows its enormous growth potential. The company has developed use cases that already act on the protection of the environment, the evolution of Administrations, the generation of knowledge, the fight against misinformation or the closing of the digital divide.

Among the companies that have already started this path, reflects the Ascendant Report, 72% have done so with the motivation of incorporating AI into their operational efficiency, 34% to improve decision making and 31% in the evolution of the experience of its customers and internal users. The lack of sufficient expert profiles in organizations is the reason that most often prevents them from taking the step; up to 80% of the participants in the Report.

Other areas of the value chain that have been focused on are the application of AI to risk management and cybersecurity (54%), corporate IT (37%), marketing (36%) and sales (33%). %). In reference to the impetus for implementation, Luis Abril, general director of Minsait, pointed out that one of the great challenges is to accelerate innovation and the agile and flexible scaling of artificial intelligence, in order not to miss the train of competitiveness and continue growing sustainably.

Regarding the implementation figures that emerge from the Report, he assured: “We perceive a qualitative leap that is moving towards new management models, in which AI is integrated into all functions of the organization, making it easier for people to focus on higher value activities.

Minsait believes that integrating ethics and cybersecurity from the initial stages is essential to guarantee the responsible and secure use of data. Although today, according to the report, only 9% of organizations have implemented them, companies are already making progress along these lines. By sector, the use is very uneven, although Banking, Energy, Insurance and Telco have already enabled measures to change their focus towards AI. Others, such as Consumption, Industry or AAPP, are in more incipient stages.