More than half of large companies in Latin America already use Artificial Intelligence

Generative Artificial Intelligence, capable not only of processing information but also of create, emerged a little less than a year ago but has already generated a profound impact on companies. A Microsoft study among companies with more than 1,000 employees in five Latin American countries showed that 55% of these companies has already adopted AI in one or more of its processes. And that the remaining 45% of companies that have not yet done so, Almost 9 out of 10 will do so in the coming months.

“In Argentina in particular, compared to the rest of the countries in the region, the businessmen surveyed have expectations that AI will generate a return on investment of less than 12 months, faster than in neighboring countries“he detailed Fernando López Iervasipresident of Microsoft South America Spain and head of IDEA Management 2024 experience.

This event will take place on Tuesday the 12th and Wednesday the 13th at the Buenos Aires Convention Center, under the title “The Year of AI.” The interest generated by the topic is evident, with almost 1,200 registered.

“Last year AI generated a sensation in all companies. They said I want something and what happened was that there were many Proof of conceptas they say in our activity, to be able to quickly verify how this new technology can transform your business,” he said. Wanda Weigert, executive director of Globant Argentina and director of IDEA. “This year, just now, we are beginning to see how these tests are beginning to be translated into projects that really have transformative power. It is a wave that is growing.”

Clarion spoke about this call with Weigert and López Iervasi, organizers of the meeting along with other directors of IDEA María Eugenia Tibessiopresident of Dupont in Argentina and director of Sales for South Latin America, and Santiago Farinati, who, from his position as head of the Mexican company Alsea for South America, manages 800 Starbucks, Burger King and Domino’s stores in the region.

López Iervasi raised an analogy between the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and electricity, as launch pads of profound changes. “When electricity was invented, it was not known that the electric motor was going to appear. Electricity was the platform and changed the way the world progressed.”

He highlighted that, unlike what happened with other technological developments, AI offers the possibility of immediate adoption. “Argentina once again has a super opportunity, because in technology, even if you have missed some of the seasons, you can get on the train at the next station. “We once again have an opportunity in what is happening in the world.”

-We have the talent and it is not necessary to have gone through the above. And there is also a reality: we as a society, which includes the current generation of managers trained here in Argentina, We have that ability to change quickly in the short term, adaptability, not thinking about how what I do is going to impact in ten years, but how it is going to do it in three months. We have adaptation and creation. And that is very different from what happens in the rest of many countries.

-At Dupont, a company in the traditional economy, how does the use of AI apply?

María Eugenia Tibessio: Dupont is an American company that is more than 220 years old that has gone through different transformations. Today we are basically a solution provider company throughout the industry. And now we are making much faster decisions with the application of AI. In the commercial area it is used for the daily management of sales, profits, and inventory. The salesperson or commercial director quickly has the necessary information to make faster decisions in a very changing world. Artificial intelligence is not going to replace my salesperson, but my seller has to use digitalization tools to make decisions and compete with other sellers who do not do it, or traditional sellers. If you don’t embrace this technology they may be left out of the market. That is why the expectation is to continue training.

-And the adaptation is simple?

-As with everything, it requires practice, It’s not that you press a button and that’s it.. We must invest in education and training. To learn any system you have to sit down and learn. Use it until you incorporate it.

-How is AI used in large chains with hundreds of stores like Starbucks or Burger King?

Santiago Farinati: For us, AI facilitates our operation. The 800 store managers we have in the region, of which 250 are in Argentina, spent an hour per day placing their order for supplies to the distribution center, because they had to take each Excel spreadsheet. Today we have a tool called Suggested Orders, which is based on generative AI and is responsible for generating order suggestions to the manager based on your inventory, the sales you had the previous week, and you can even add weather issues. So, instead of an hour, the manager dedicates ten minutes to that request. Today, this repetitive and transactional task is solved by technology and people. You have more time to spend on customer service, taking care of customers, ensuring that the store is well.

-Is it true that they use a human resources application based on video games?

-It is a spectacular tool. We only in Argentina We hire 1,500 people per year, between new income and natural rotation. Today we have a tool called Genome, which through a lot of layers of information – which I technically don’t know how it works – allows through the gaming see the competencies and characteristics of the applicants. Of the 1,000 that are presented, the tool recommends the 100 with the greatest affinity. And in addition, our turnover has already dropped 10% in the first three months, because the kids who come in already have that cultural affinity with what we do. Not to mention that interviews are also reduced to one hour per applicant. They are tools that at first generate resistance, but the point is to change the mentality and overcome that barrier.

-AI is also already being applied in so-called smart cameras.

-Yes, with cameras that analyze consumer behavior, to see how many people leave the premises depending on each time or how many people are in line. The camera tells you that if there are so many people in line, there are already people who do not want to be there, and establishes how long the maximum waiting time should be. Used well, AI gives you more time. For me the key word is time. Time for people to do the things we do best. A strategy, building a team, motivating people, listening to them. AI can’t do that, yet.

-But there is also the fear that there will be more work for machines and less for people.

Lopez Iervasi: In fact, part of the debate is what happens if technology makes us more human. What are we going to do with our free time? The reality is that we are landing in a world of super productivity. It is one of the big trends, super productivity and what are we going to do with more time. It is probably one of the questions to be resolved. There will be more capacity to have more free time.

-And innovations, which were previously measured in years, now occur in months.

-One of the radical changes that occurred in 2023 is that for the first time we can converse with technology with our natural language. In the last three months a radical change appeared with a multimodal interface. With OpenAI 4.0, the user shows a situation to the AI, through a camera. You tell him I’m going to go do trekking to the Lanín volcano and I have this shoe. You show it to the camera and it starts asking you questions about when you’re wearing it and answers whether or not it’s the right shoe. In real time, AI helps you make better decisions in real time and without entering texts. It is a new way of conversation with technology.

María Eugenia Tibessio: Innovation is here to stay and the question is how do we stand up to that innovation and prepare our people. The challenge is, faced with this reality, what leadership must be developed. The IDEA Management event is about management and leadership update. So what we always try to bring is new concepts, new trends. The team is very interdisciplinary with the industry, tech companies, mass consumption, human resources. Where we all think about what is new that we can contribute. And how to prepare talents in Argentina, where we cannot ignore the reality in which we live.

Wanda Weigert: What leads us to talk about artificial intelligence today is the strong adoption by users. A couple of years ago we were talking about metaverse, which is still there but has not exploded as much as artificial intelligence. User adoption was not as fast as expected. Instead AI is already there, students use it, everyone uses it. That is why we say that we cannot miss the opportunity. Because of the importance that Artificial Intelligence has today.