Anticipation of demand, error detection, more accurate results, improved data analysis and optimisation of decision-making are just some of the benefits that AI has brought to society and industry. However, as a result of its impact, the use of the solution faces ethical challenges that are leading the world's leading organisations to regulate its area of action.

In this sense, the European summit that will address the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence in different economic fields is DES – Digital Enterprise Show 2024, the largest EU meeting dedicated to exponential technologies, which will take place from 11 to 13 June in Malaga, Spain. In its eighth edition, AI will be the main digital tool, which will flood the whole event addressing its influence on Banking, Manufacturing, Health, Mobility, Retail, Tourism and Entertainment.

Names such as Dragos Tudorache, Member of the European Parliament, co-rapporteur of the AI Act and chair of the Special Committee on AI created by the European Parliament; Mark Minevich, UN advisor and co-chair of AI for the Planet Alliance, an organisation that seeks to address the climate emergency using artificial intelligence, or Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer of the global platform that fights extreme poverty by 2030, Global Citizen, will bring to the table the present and future of this disruptive technology,

In the same vein, Natalia Millán, recognised with the National Innovation Award 2023, awarded by the Ministry of Science, and with the Artificial Intelligence and Big 0Data Award of the AEIT-Madrid; Pilar Manchón, Director of Artificial Intelligence Research Strategy at Google Research; José Ventura, Data & AI Sales at IBM; Ashish Sharma, Director Partner Product Marketing at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure; Nuria Ávalos, General Director of the association that promotes the use of data and AI; José Ventura, Data & AI Sales at IBM; and Álvaro Millán, who leads the Ikea customer experience for Europe, will address the opportunities and challenges of AI.

Future trends in AI

In a context of constant innovation, DES2024 will explore the rapid evolution of AI and the advances it has brought, and will continue to bring to the community. Fredrik Ostbye, CEO of Aliaxis; David López, Partner of Fhios Smart Knowledge; Joaquín Rodríguez, CEO of the Advanced Aerospace Technology Centre, and Magnus Melander, Deeptech Advisor and CMO of Deep Tech Alliance, will share the benefits that machine learning is bringing to the current situation through initiatives related to content generation or emerging applications in specific sectors.

One of the fields where AI is bringing multiple advantages is in creativity, contributing to the creation of unique ideas and material. Adam Colyer, Chief Creative Director and co-founder of Giant Cookie and IA Create; Antonio Ordóñez, Innovation Director at Madrid Content School; Lito Navarro, innovation and extended reality consultant; and Cristina Vila, business reinvention expert and strategy advisor, will examine the changes that AI-powered content creation platforms have brought about in productivity and inspiration within the workplace and artistic activities.

In this regard, and because of other capabilities it provides, companies are strongly promoting the incorporation of AI, so that it has gone from a "nice to have" to a "must have". Manel Carpio, Partner at Deloitte, and Alicia Sánchez, IBM's Head of Integrator Alliances, will debate this point. In turn, Claudio Chifa, a cybersecurity specialist with more than 15 years of experience, and Marlon Molina, Director of The Fintech Cybersecurity Laboratory, will assess the global impact of AI on business, from production to distribution and even sales channels.

Social impact from an ethical point of view

The implementation of AI faces, on the other hand, the important challenge of assessing its scope from an ethical point of view. As a result, regulations are beginning to be drafted, such as the one promoted by the European Union to ensure a safe and more humanistic development of the use of AI. Community bodies have already given the green light to this landmark legislation whose general rules will begin to apply in May 2025, while the obligations for high-risk systems will be implemented in three years' time. These aspects will be discussed by María González, Director of Public Affairs at the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy; Daniel Sáez-Domingo, President of Gaia-X Hub Spain; Dan Nechita, Head of Cabinet of Dragos Tudorache MEP in the European Parliament; and Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group.

DES2024 will also address ethical considerations, potential biases and the need to ensure fairness in AI algorithms with a view to ensuring transparency and accountability of systems. A panel of experts will include Idoia Salazar, president and co-founder of OdiseIA, the Observatory on the Ethical and Social Impact of Artificial Intelligence and head of the AI regulatory testbed in Spain. She will be joined by Justo Hidalgo, Director of Artificial Intelligence at the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy, and Aimee Ansari, Executive Director of the non-profit organisation Clear Global. 

Who is leading the integration of AI in organisations?

The vertiginous rise of artificial intelligence has led organisations to establish a new professional profile that exclusively leads the integration of this technology. Thus, the figure of the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) has been created, which is key to promoting the logical use of AI in any corporation. Nera González, Innovation & AI & Product Development Director at Avos Tech Prosegur, a brand that accompanies in the organisational digital transformation, and José Daniel García, Head of Innovation Growth at Ferrovial, will be speaking at DES2024 about this role, which ensures the correct deployment of the solution internally, guaranteeing ethical practices and the prevention of threats.