The deployment of AI is at one of its most crucial moments, in ChatGPT times and situations such as the recent announcement by Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak and more than a thousand signatories to a statement recommending halting its development for a few months. Besides the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has begun investigating OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT for “possible breach of regulations,” a new stick in the wheel as has happened in the cases of countries like the US and Italy, absent the expected and upcoming announcement of Google’s next steps in the vast world of artificial intelligence.
While the debates about the benefits and pitfalls of this technological application, “machine learning” and “deep learning,” are clear, the company is trying to capitalize on the most visible and beneficial facet of this “technological development.” And in the case of small and medium enterprises, artificial intelligence is added to the pool of factors to be taken into account to not only enhance development, but in some cases, survival. The activity that is running according to the report “Radiographies of emerging jobs in Spain” (DigitalES-Asociación Española para la Digitización), third place as areas of activity, after cybersecurity and “cloud” and ahead of the sections “data”, “internet of things”, “smart city”, health, “blockchain” and “QA Automation”.
But there’s still a long way to go in the wonderful AI/processor world, as highlighted Jesus Tapia, responsible for the ISDI Accelerator: «SMEs, at the moment, apply very little. To be able to apply it, you need to have a lot of good data, and this is where small and medium businesses start working, keeping in mind the importance of data quality.” In addition to quality, he highlights the importance of adopting cloud technologies, “cloud computing”: “It is It affects artificial intelligence because it is there, in the “cloud”, where algorithms associated with artificial intelligence must be implemented. This adoption still has a long way to go.”
Essential investment
Consultations confirmed, therefore, as Essential in companies (especially the “less” technological ones) that do not have the resources for this strategic part of the business process in the 21st century. Costs to be considered, more than ever, as investments, in line with a well-defined roadmap, as Tapia points out: «In the long run, with the right dimensions of resource consumption, companies are optimizing costs, in the context in which business schools offer And technology companies have courses and certifications available to professionals and companies that ensure that the employee has the knowledge and minimum level of practice to be able to apply it to their business.”
In case ISDI, which provides training in all kinds of disciplines related to technology and digital transformation, announced last fall the financing of two million euros for experts in artificial intelligence and small and medium-sized companies through the ISDI Accelerator and the European BonsAPPs project. Up to 30 AI experts (data scientists, researchers, developers, integrators) on a project that gives applicants access to a five-month program, with the goal of becoming an “AI Certified User” for the Bonseyes Marketplace and commercial support platform, with all kinds of solutions for industries such as automotive, manufacturing, and care Health and robots.
In this new path toward competence, and in the midst of the debate over the fear of suppressing professions (and jobs), the answers point to Optimization, to reallocate tasks and resourcesin an area still to be cultivated, as stated in the report “Indicators of Artificial Intelligence in Spanish Companies” (Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence): only 7% of Spanish SMEs use AI, (6% on average in the EU ) ).
Meanwhile, from the same government department, from Red.es, they comment on how they “put a framework into the program digital kitRed.es has designed an automated processing system using robotics tools and artificial intelligence that reduces bureaucratic burden, reduces the number of documents to submit and shortens franchise terms.
This system has 24 “working” bots so that a company can ask for help without providing any documentation. «It is enough (they indicate from the institution) that the business owner authorizes Red.es to consult ex officio the requirements and obligations required to obtain beneficiary status, to maintain transparency and legal certainty, and to reduce the processing time of a three-hour file from half to three minutes “.
Institutional support
Institutional support
An environment that highlights how 217 companies (69%, SMEs) have benefited from the latest appeal for €105 million in assistance for research and development projects in AI and other digital technologies and their integration into value chains, thanks to NextGenerationEU funds under the Recovery and Transformation Plan Flexibility and the Digital Spain 2026 Agenda and The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (ENIA).
At the regional level, the Community of Madrid (Department of Local Administration and Digitization) has modern “clusters” such as Artificial Intelligence (located in Leganes) and Digital Transformation (Torrejon de Ardoz), where companies and research institutions such as the Imedea Institutes are located network software and Imdea, And at the time A Coruña was chosen as the headquarters of the government agency for the supervision of artificial intelligence.
Miguel Rejo, President of the Leganes Group, stresses the importance of “creating a cooperation framework that allows generating a competitive advantage in the region, with more efficient companies and a more sustainable society. In this environment, small and medium-sized companies will be able to benefit from the advantages of intelligent information processing.” Rigo notes the importance of SMEs being able to access all kinds of resources “without having to make large investments or having highly specialized human resources”.
Louis LopesHead of the Digital Transformation Cluster, for his part, highlights how to search for new business models and attract talent to promote aspects such as “the application of Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies in Industry 4.0 to improve energy consumption in productive processes.”
«To make small and medium-sized industrial enterprises more competitive (Llopis continues) at a high cost of energy prices, it is necessary to identify patterns of behavior in the use of production centers with the highest energy consumption, linking production volumes with consumption, equipment condition and receipt. Information from energy marketers, be it gas or electricity. A complete set of data that will anchor the medium and long term. Efficiency in promoting increased competitiveness, in scalable procedures for all types of companies.
Nasty but real
In any case, as Fran Ruiz González, Director of Innovation at Stratesys, points out: “There is a gap in the adoption of certain technologies between the world of the user and the world of professionals, but AI really exists for everyone. A world where it is necessary to distinguish what is already integrated into applications, Tools and platforms Which are used in the business world and the world we develop to measure and specifically to a specific company and to provide a solution or provide efficiencies in their specific scenario.
Ruiz Gonzalez Realizing that the word “entry level” fits the current scenario of small and medium businesses, “although more and more companies are adopting AI solutions to improve their operations and gain competitive advantages through market tools that support or cover some of their needs, for example, customer experience or Automation of repetitive tasks or support in analyzing information for decision making that generates competitive advantage.
Berima mission to solve challenges
The 10 industry challenges identified by the ISDI Accelerator and European project bonusapps (together with seven other organizations) focused on business developments related to robotics (collision control and keyword detection), manufacturing (flaw detection and object detection), automotive (gaze detection, vehicle part tracking, body and gesture recognition) and health (bio-tele tags). heart rate detection and 3D body detection).
Evidence for facing the future in line with the European Commission’s AI strategy to build an “ecosystem of excellence that can support the development and adoption of AI across the EU”. In all cases, as Jesús Tapia points out: “Data is the (intangible) business asset that is used as raw material for AI.”
New features
In this round for small and medium-sized companies, as the specialist points out, more and more profiles will appear in the areas of technology “close to the world of data analytics who, with some training, can be facilitators to determine the use cases in which artificial intelligence is applied in your company, as well as Accompany the required model creations, etc. Let’s say they will be “ambassadors of change” … who, by the way, will have to face challenges such as privacy, data security, ethics, explanation of models or possible substitution of functions ».
