The digital transformation in this fourth industrial revolution is key to understanding the different changes that society is undergoing, not only in terms of technology. The repercussions can be seen in multiple aspects and this is clear to the president of Microsoft Latin America, César Cernuda.
In a conversation with the magazine América Economíamagazine, Cernuda refers to the implementation of artificial intelligence in companies, its impact on the labor market, the elimination and creation of new jobs, and how professions must adjust to these changes.
- How has AI been growing in the region, specifically in the business area?
We are living in the fourth industrial revolution. The way we are interacting and operating today is very different from the way it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago. We are really living this transformation that starts from the base of the industrial revolution. What role does artificial intelligence play here? AI is based on three very important parameters: one is the explosion of data; second, how can we work in an economically viable way with all that data; third, the cloud world has made that a reality and, therefore, algorithms are starting to be created.
- Which Latin American countries are currently implementing AI to the greatest extent?
All countries and industries are transforming digitally, it's a reality. Historically there has been a huge difference between large and small companies. Large companies were able to retain resources to invest in an IT department, in servers, in security, in machines, etc., and their technological gap with more developed countries was not so large. The problem was in small companies that, lacking resources, the digital gap was much larger because the cost of technology adoption was enormous. Today, with the world of cloud computing, people do not really have to buy technology, but pay for a service, which is the same as that used by large companies. We are democratizing the world through this fourth industrial revolution because everyone will have access to these benefits and advantages.
- How has AI impacted the labor market in a timely manner?
There are several studies that say that in the next 30 or 40 years, 30% of today's jobs will no longer exist. This is very positive because there will be many new and different jobs than the ones we see today. Perhaps the negative part is "if I don't transform myself, change and train myself, my job will still exist tomorrow". If you think about how you develop your job today versus the job of a journalist 30 years ago, it is very different. So if you do not transform yourself, it is really a problem because you cannot be as you were before if today you cover other areas, with other focuses, you use technology in a totally different way, etc. It is essential that we work on training.
- What are the keys to successful digital transformation?
Trust. That trust means that I really feel that the digital and AI world, the partner I work with, gives me those guarantees of trust. And a very important issue is data security and privacy, and Microsoft is very committed to that. There are two different issues, one is data privacy, we have publicly announced and we have always said that the data belongs to our customers, not to us. And the second point is security, that is to say, one of the most worrying points and it is valid that it worries companies and people.
- Are there any trends with respect to new jobs that could be enhanced or grow in number?
More and more programming is happening. We are seeing that every day more and more engineers who are capable of developing codes and programming are in demand. We are going to see that all companies in one way or another are going to be programming, they are going to be related to the world of technology, so there is going to be a demand. We have more and more data and what we need are data analysts, data engineers, people around the world of data is fundamental, who are able to analyze and make decisions, develop algorithms with that data. Mathematicians are also going to need more. There is no doubt that we are going to need technicians who are capable, professionals who understand the world of AI. Therefore, I would say that in the area of Science, Technology and Engineering, we are going to need more and more people.
- And what about those professions that are not linked to the world of technology? What skills will they have to enhance in order not to be left behind?
Being able to understand people is fundamental, because then there will be more and more data and technology that will have to be able to analyze people's psychological behavior. This is going to be much more relevant because we will have to educate these systems about the existing diversity and, therefore, verify that inclusion is part of the ethics and paradigm that we live in. See how both can work together.
Therefore, being able to communicate is vital, to understand and communicate to people, but we are going to understand it much better than now, because now you understand it with your experience, but then you are going to have technology and you will be more precise when creating your comments to generate a better debate or to pass on information.
Excerpt from the interview published on the website of América Economía magazine.
