Francisco Tomas
Madrid, June 1 (EFE).- The autonomous communities of Madrid, Catalonia and the Valencian Community lead the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our country in the business field, but also to a large extent in terms of public support, a classification in which they are accompanied by Aragón and La Rioja, Galicia, Navarra, Extremadura, Asturias, Andalusia and the Basque Country.
These autonomies are located, more or less, and some better than others, close to the Spanish average in business implementation of AI, but, in addition, they show a notable intensity in the public impulse.
According to what sources from the Digitalization Department of the Community of Madrid have told EFE, they are currently working on more than twenty projects that use Artificial Intelligence, such as the “Whisper” tool, focused on education, or the Search Engine. 360º, which allows judges, prosecutors and lawyers to recover information from a file.
Another of its projects classifies different types of pollen, with information from the historical measurements of the collectors that exist in the Community of Madrid and with meteorological data from AEMET, to increase the reliability of the predictions by 25%.
For its part, Catalonia has launched numerous AI projects in recent years, among which Aina stands out, promoted by the Generalitat and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). Aina generates computer models of the Catalan language.
On the other hand, within the framework of the Salut/AI program, the public health system and research centers in Catalonia have identified a hundred solutions in development or application for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
The Valencian Community has a chair shared with the Polytechnic University of Valencia on AI applied to public administrations, and a public-private observatory for the transfer of information.
It also allocates financial aid of 800,000 euros this year for the training of professionals in the incorporation of AI in companies, and subsidizes several initiatives, including the Ellis Foundation in Alicante for research into the ethical part of AI (500,000 euros in 2024).
Along with this, it is the only Spanish region participating in the European Cancer Imaging (EUCAIM) project, which has the Hospital de La Fe de València Research Institute as its central node and will be the headquarters of its infrastructure.
For its part, La Rioja stands out with initiatives such as the Tech FabLab project, the first stone of the future La Rioja Scientific and Technological Park.
The Center for Spanish Industries at the University of La Rioja will aim to promote the New Language Economy, creating a data space in Spanish supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The implementation of AI in companies in Madrid, Aragonese or Valencia has been higher than the average for the rest of the country for years, but La Rioja and Catalonia have also recently placed themselves in that group.
Regarding the penetration of artificial intelligence in companies, red.es reported in a 2023 document that, in the previous year, “Madrid, the Valencian Community and Aragon were the communities where the most companies used AI.”
More recently, the consulting firm Pandora FMS, in a report released by the Spanish Association of Consulting Companies, updated this data.
This consultancy pointed out that companies in the Community of Madrid (16%) lead the use of Artificial Intelligence and that the Valencian Community (14%) and Catalonia (15%) follow, maintaining the growth in the use of this tool.
“Aragón (14%) maintains a positive dynamic and La Rioja (12%) stands out especially, whose companies have experienced notable business development in the use of AI,” he added.
In fact, according to the latest study carried out by the Economic and Social Council of Aragon, carried out by a multidisciplinary research team from the University of Zaragoza, Aragonese companies are above the national average in all sectors in the use of AI (14% in Aragon compared to 13% in Spain).
Zaragoza’s candidacy to host the Spanish AI Supervision Agency (AESIA), which was finally awarded to La Coruña, contributed to the promotion of AI in the community.
Galicia, together with Extremadura and Asturias, is part of the group of the first autonomies to propose regional regulations on AI. In addition, Asturias has the Artificial Intelligence Center of the University of Oviedo and the Asturias Digital Innovation Hub (AsDIH).
The Andalusian city of Granada is home to an important cluster linked to AI.
In June 2023, the Andalusian Government approved the Andalusian Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2030, to improve the quality of public services and the competitiveness of companies.
In addition, the Intelligent Automation Unit has been operating since 2021, which has processed 2.5 million documents in an automated manner thanks to artificial intelligence, with more than 1.4 million files managed.
Navarra and the Basque Country have also generated especially powerful ecosystems to support artificial intelligence through centers such as the Basque Center for Artificial Intelligence (BAIC) and the Navarrese NAIR Center.
Despite their current situation, communities such as Cantabria, Castilla y León and the Balearic Islands are giving a new boost to AI and, thus, the Ministry of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Commerce of the Government of Cantabria informs EFE that they are betting by AI “as a transversal line to all innovation projects.”
In Castilla y León, the regional government coordinates and develops four projects linked to the state call RETECH IA (Territorial Networks of Technological Specialization. Artificial Intelligence).
The Balearic Government, together with the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute of the University of the Balearic Islands, is finalizing a training and awareness plan on the risks and potential of AI. EFE
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