AUSAPE has brought together experts from the sector at the La Pedrera Auditorium in Barcelona to reflect on the role that human thinking will continue to play in an environment increasingly conditioned by algorithms, automation and artificial intelligence.
Can increasingly advanced technology generate increasingly predictable responses? What can Gaudí teach us, a century after his death, about creativity and innovation in the era of artificial intelligence? These were some of the questions that focused on the Master Session “The Order of the Invisible”, organized by AUSAPE, which brought together specialists in creativity, architecture and technological innovation to analyze the challenges of a future in which human talent will continue to be decisive.
Share knowledge and enhance professional relationships
The general director of AUSAPE, Ana Encinas, opened the day by recalling the association’s desire to join the commemorations of Gaudí’s centenary from a technological and humanist perspective. Founded in 1994, AUSAPE currently has 675 associated companies and provides service to 7,355 SAP users in Spain. A trajectory that is supported by two of its main hallmarks: sharing knowledge and promoting professional relationships within its community.
For her part, Sara Antuñano, president of AUSAPE and member of Women and Technology, highlighted the importance of generating spaces that allow us to go beyond immediate technological challenges. Likewise, he claimed creativity, enthusiasm and the ability to imagine new possibilities as essential elements to face major transformation processes. Next, he gave way to the members of the Advisory Committee, Nacho Santillana and Sergi Gistás, who explained the purpose of these Master Sessions and introduced the speakers.
The first conference was given by Sofya Abramchuk, CEO and founder of the Originate Institute, who proposed recovering one of the fundamental ideas of Gaudí’s thought: “Originality consists of returning to the origin.” In the face of innovation understood only as a permanent search for novelties, Abramchuk defended the need to return to the purpose, the roots and the meaning of what one intends to build. A reflection that fits with AUSAPE’s approach of addressing technological transformation without losing sight of its human and social dimension.
The practical application of innovation came from the hand of Fernando Villa, former Director of Technology and Innovation of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, who showed how one of the most recognizable buildings in the world has also become an authentic technological laboratory.
Digitalization, parametric systems, sensorization, drones, artificial vision and artificial intelligence currently make it possible to conserve, analyze and continue building the basilica. Among the examples on display, Villa explained the use of more than 200 sensors on the Nativity façade and the future development of a digital twin that will integrate construction information, historical data and knowledge related to its conservation.
The challenge of preserving creativity in the age of AI
One of the most provocative debates of the day arose during the conversation between the journalist David Escamilla and Alberto T. Estévez, architect, professor at UIC Barcelona and curator of «Learning from Gaudí in the 19th century. XXI».
Based on his own research experience, Estévez raised a question that is especially relevant to the current technological debate: are artificial intelligence tools offering increasingly standardized answers? As he explained, while a few years ago he found unexpected and surprising proposals in them, he currently observes a greater tendency towards conventional and repetitive solutions. A personal appreciation, not a scientific conclusion about AI, that invites us to reflect on the limits of algorithms when innovation precisely requires breaking with established patterns.
Jordi Xofra, member of Working Groups and Delegations of AUSAPE and Structural Transformation Director at AG Connectivity Hub of Agrolimen, was in charge of closing the meeting. During his speech he highlighted precisely the risk of standardization of creativity as one of the most interesting reflections of the session.
Are artificial intelligence tools offering increasingly standardized answers?
With this initiative, AUSAPE continues the first Master Session previously held in Madrid and reinforces its commitment to complement its usual technical activity with spaces for reflection on the major transformations that affect companies and professionals. A proposal with which the association seeks to expand the technological debate and vindicate the value of human thought, creativity and shared knowledge in a scenario marked by the advance of artificial intelligence.
