Manufacturing lagging behind in AI: Allie

Punta Mita. Mexico is in the last quartile in the world in adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), ranking around 80th out of 115 countries measured, which places it among the furthest behind in the incorporation of this technology in key sectors such as manufacturing, stated Álex Sandoval, general director and founder of Allie.

For the businessman, the lag does not respond to a lack of talent, but, mainly, to fear and the absence of a clear public policy on the matter.

After his presentation to businessmen at the Annual Convention of the Meat Industry held last week, Sandoval warned that the world is going through “the greatest breakthrough technological (disruptive leap) in history”, even more impactful than the Internet or the computer. He cited estimates from laboratories such as Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, according to which in one year programming could be completely resolved by AI and in 24 months between 40 and 50 percent of many tasks could be automated.

He stressed that it is urgent for Mexico to accelerate adoption, particularly in manufacturing, a sector that represents between 30 and 40 percent of the economy and 30 percent of global GDP.

He clarified that automation and artificial intelligence are not the same. The first involves machines or robots that execute tasks; The second connects dispersed information and allows decisions to be made in real time.

“Nothing talks to each other,” he explained of many plants where each system operates in isolation. Allie’s proposal, he said, is that “the plant thinks”; That is, all information is connected to anticipate failures, reduce waste and avoid losses. An example, he commented, is temperature control on a food production line. A deviation can cause the loss of tons of product and delays in deliveries. With AI, the system detects the anomaly and sends precise instructions to the operator to correct it before the problem escalates.

The benefits are mainly efficiency. “I was producing 50 thousand bottles per hour and now I make 70 thousand. Before I had 40 hours of unemployment, today only 20,” he explained. In large corporations, a single line can generate savings of between 50 and 70 thousand dollars per hour. In plants with dozens or hundreds of lines, the cumulative impact is significant.

In the food and beverage industry, he added, reducing waste is key.

AI also makes it possible to anticipate risks in supply chains. Sandoval gave an example of the war between Russia and Ukraine and its impact on the price of wheat. An intelligent system can correlate geopolitical conflicts, weather and logistics to recommend supplier changes and execute purchase orders in days, when previously that process took months.

Among the main obstacles in Mexico he identified three: lack of specialized public policy, need for greater coordination between unions and technology companies, and a more active role of universities in training. “The main challenge that I see is fear,” he said, noting that resistance arises at both operational and managerial levels.

Allie, a Mexican company, has more than 200 plants connected to its platform, with between 10 and 50 lines per installation. The platform manages more than 3 billion dollars in production from companies like Bimbo and Lala.