Deepseek's emergence in the global technological landscape not only breaks the current oligopoly. It also facilitates the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in the whole of the productive system, this being a relevant opportunity for the Spanish economy, on condition of taking advantage of it. The great leap forward of the Chinese company shows that the barriers of entry into the market of AI are not as high as one thought. We will see if some European initiatives manage to take over, competing in some market niches with world giants. For Spain, this eventuality is more futuristic than a realistic scenario in the short term: the 12,000 million euros of the Spanish microchips plan financed with Next Generation funds have not generated an ecosystem at the height of expectations and, for the moment, only 2.4% of the resources planned for this program have been executed. However, the most hopeful development for our economy comes from the reduction of access and incorporation costs of AI in productive systems. To date, the benefits of new technologies in terms of productivity have been very concentrated around world leaders in the sector, as can be seen from their stock market contributions. In the 2019-2023 period, the productivity of the technology producing sectors grew a spectacular 27.2%-in terms of added value by full-time occupied occupied in the information and communications sector, which includes the bulk of the activities of the activities of Big Tech. This is six times more than in the rest of the sectors, so that, today, an acceleration in the productivity of the American economy is not perceived. The data also supports the feeling of European technological delay. Almost half of the productivity differential between both sides of the Atlantic, and 40% in the case of Spain, is explained by the preponderance of North American corporations. But the productivity gap is much more limited in the rest of the service sectors. In the industry, Europe even gets a slight advantage. All this certifies the European delay in the generation of new technologies, also evidencing the weak speed of dissemination of these technologies. The novelty is that Chinese technology facilitates the dissemination of AI at a very small cost, while generating innumerable opportunities for Application thanks to its open source. These are potential benefits of high reach whose materialization, however, is not automatic, but depends on good praxis in companies and conditions that derive from recent experience. One of the factors, of great interest for the European competence policy, is the proper operation of the markets, since the technological dissemination will be slower in the presence of rentier operators. The facts denied some AI ideologues such as Peter Thiel and its prophetic market power concentration as a vector of the technological revolution. Second place, a disruptive change such as the one that is coming involves an accelerated process of creation of companies and restructuring that should be accompanied. Hence the importance of deepening the single market and the liberalization of savings movements within the European Union. Active employment policies are also aimed at playing an important role. Finally, a rethinking of the funds planned for the production of advanced processors in Spain seems inescapable, not only because of their low current impact. Also because these resources, redesigned, can be crucial for the adaptation of the productive system to AI, given changes in the organization of work, tasks and business management that are glimpsed. According to economist Olivier Blanchard, Deepseek's advance could unleash an unprecedented productivity shock. Hopefully, but the benefits will not fall from heaven.
Size and use
According to the data offered by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), 11.3% of Spanish companies use artificial intelligence (AI) in their activities (with data by 2024 that companies of more than ten employees incorporate). The result is favorably compared with France (9.9%) and Italy (8.2%), but almost two points below the European Union average are located. The size is a determining factor: about 44% of the corporations of more than 250 workers use AI, improving the European average, compared to 10.2% of other companies, a result lower than the average. Raymond Torres is a director of the situation of Funcas. In X: @raymondorres_
