More than 150 managers and experts meet in Madrid at the VI edition of AI in Women

More than 150 managers and experts in artificial intelligence (AI) have participated in the VI edition of AI in Feminine the reference congress in Spain dedicated to make visible the role of women in the development of this technology which took place at the WPP Campus in Madrid and which served to analyze the present and future of AI from a “strategic, ethical and inclusive” perspective, as the organizers explained.

This year’s edition, which has reached full capacity and has been broadcast in streaming, has had more than 40 speakers from companies such as SDG, Decide Linkroad, Innova-tsn, Mética, Sngular, HP, HPE, Sellcom, Repsol, BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Acciona or Mahou, as well as representatives from the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Public Service.

The congress, born in 2021, has established itself as a key conversation space for promote a fairer, more useful and humane artificial intelligence through greater female participation in the technology sector. At the institutional inauguration of this edition, led by Marta Cuenca Aguilar, deputy director of AxiCom Spain, and the co-directors of AI in Femenino Carmen Berrocoso and Carmen Reina, the importance of “creating spaces that promote diversity in the technological ecosystem” and that allow “visiting female references in the field of artificial intelligence” was highlighted.

One of the most notable moments of the day was the intervention of Ana Palacios Morillo, general director of Data at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service, who focused on the low presence of women in the advanced technological field. Palacios assures that it is not only a question of equality, but also of competitiveness, technological sovereignty and quality of the systems. “The success of the digital revolution will not be measured only by technological capacity, but by our ability to build a fair, inclusive and representative model,” he stated.

Aleida Alcaide, general director of Artificial Intelligence in the same Ministry, also participated via video, who highlighted that Spain already occupies seventh place in Stanford’s Global AI Readiness ranking – after climbing 13 positions in one year. Alcaide has also highlighted Spain’s active role in the European negotiation to ban AI systems aimed at generating ‘deepfakes’ of intimate images without consent, including child pornography.

ROUND TABLES TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES OF AI

The congress addressed some of the great current challenges of artificial intelligence through different round tables and presentations. Macarena Estévez, founder of Cirentis and AI expert, spoke about technological acceleration and defended the need for lead the technological future always putting people at the center. For its part, the panel ‘The Era of Empathy’ analyzed how AI is transforming professional skills and how algorithms follow reproducing historical gender biases present in society.

Another of the major topics discussed was data sovereignty and the environmental impact of artificial intelligence. Representatives from HP, HPE and Spain DC participated in a panel moderated by Carmen Reina, who warned about the infrastructure and sustainability challenges involved in the mass adoption of AI. In this sense, Inés Bermejo, VP and MD for Iberia at HP, recalled that By 2027, data centers will consume between 4,200 and 6,000 million cubic meters of water.

The day also included reflections on autonomous governance, agentic AI and decision making with artificial intelligence. Experts from companies such as MASORANGE, EDP Client Solutions, ACCIONA, Innova-tsn and Mética Partners debated the limits, risks and opportunities of an increasingly autonomous AI, insisting on the importance of human judgment in the face of technological trends.

The closing of the congress was dedicated to the role of the pioneers and female references in technological development. Researchers, engineers and managers agreed that diversity of thought and experience is a competitive advantage for the advancement of artificial intelligence.