Artificial intelligence in the products or services of 10,000 companies

By September, almost 10 thousand Italian companies had used, or integrated, artificial intelligence into their product or service lines, an increase of around 30% compared to 12 months earlier. Not surprising then is the exponential demand for professionals working with Ia, which has risen from 40 thousand at the beginning of 2024 to over 300 thousand today (+650%). A development accompanied by a strong increase in female participation in the sector, which has risen from 30% to over 40%. However, there is no shortage of obstacles: the spread of artificial intelligence in companies reveals a clear lack of homogeneity between large companies and SMEs, and investments are needed not only in technologies, but also in the managerial skills that are essential to drive innovation.

The 6th report of the 4.Manager Observatory "Artificial Intelligence. Cultural and organisational change for companies and managers: new trajectories of manageriality', which will be presented today in Rome on the occasion of the opening of the academic year of the Pontifical Antonianum University, takes a snapshot 'in the field' of the relationship between work and new technologies. Many companies (48.1%) integrate Ia to improve processes, while 40% emphasise the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to make the most of its benefits. Larger companies adopt artificial intelligence at 24% compared to 5% of small and medium-sized ones. Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna and Naples are the main centres of adoption in the IT, software development and research services sectors.

However, the adoption of Ia in Italian companies is still in its infancy: 35% use it in a limited or experimental way, while only 1.9% consider it a strategic priority. Most companies are still in an exploration phase, trying to understand how intelligence can be effectively applied to their business models. All agree on one point: corporate leadership plays a central role in this process, but, again, only 23.8% of companies claim to have strong proactive leadership in implementing Ia.

"Although artificial intelligence is revolutionising the business world, the real value continues to lie in human intelligence,' emphasises Stefano Cuzzilla, president of 4.Manager and Federmanager. 'Our production systems are mines of knowledge and skills, largely unexplored by Ia, that are waiting to be exploited. Unfortunately, to date, investment in training is still insufficient compared to the scale of the transformation taking place. A concrete change of pace is needed'.

"Technological innovation is a driver of the country's development and the ability to drive change is crucial to ensure that our companies have the skills and know-how they need to be adequately trained, to help them maximise the opportunities for investment in new technologies and be more competitive on national and international markets,' adds Alberto Tripi, Confindustria's special advisor for artificial intelligence. In short, AI opens up new and wide-ranging opportunities, it changes, transforms but does not destroy work, raising its quality level and increasing the benefits not only for companies but for the workers themselves'.