The executive president of Telefónica España, Borja Ochoa, has reiterated that artificial intelligence (AI) has become the "main productivity tool" within the company.
Ochoa spoke this Tuesday at the World in Progress (WIP), which has been taking place at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, in Barcelona, since last Monday.
He detailed that the company applies this technology in three essential areas: the internal transformation of the organization, the renewal of its product and service offering, and the role it plays in society, citing as an example initiatives such as the gigafactory project.
Likewise, he pointed out that Telefónica has launched a specific AI deployment plan, whose central purpose is the transformation of processes and the increase of productivity.
Avoiding attacks through AI
Regarding cybersecurity, Ochoa emphasized that AI has helped accelerate development in this field, which he recalled is "one of the most important business lines" for the operator.
He highlighted the internal capabilities they have created to shield their networks, which, as he indicated, gives them "especially strong" capabilities against external threats.
Ochoa pointed out that the roadmap involves adding AI tools that make it possible to respond to attacks that also use this technology, since, he said, they are obliged to "accelerate" their response capacity.
"We are incorporating agentic in a total way so that, when we receive an attack, we are able to analyze much faster and give a response much faster," he stated.
Activity in the defense sector
When asked about the defense field, Ochoa indicated that in recent years they have reorganized all of the company's activity in this segment with the aim of integrating it under a single structure.
He specified that they currently operate on two major lines: on the one hand, geographic expansion, both in Spain and in the rest of Europe, and, on the other, the development and launch of new specific products.
Consolidation of the telecommunications sector
As for the evolution of the sector, Ochoa has shown himself in favor of moving toward a consolidation of telecommunications, both in the Spanish market and in the European one, and he stated that "it is convenient" because he considers it to be the most appropriate way for Europe to strengthen its technological capabilities.
He has defended that these operations should begin at the national level "whenever it makes economic sense," both for the companies involved and for the market as a whole.
He has also criticized the fact that, until now, competition regulation has focused almost exclusively on tariffs and on the number of actors present, and has positively valued the fact that the latest drafts of the future regulation introduce modifications in this direction.