For the past few years, the conversation about artificial intelligence has focused on its capabilities: larger models, greater accuracy, greater speed. But increasingly, the relevant question is different: it’s not about what AI can do, but what AI should do.
This shift in perspective compels us to look beyond technology. It invites us to ask ourselves what kind of society we want to build and what role artificial intelligence should play in contributing to the common good.
This vision was a central theme of the AI for Good Global Summit, held a few weeks ago in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Far from focusing exclusively on the latest technological advances, the conference highlighted how AI can contribute to addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges: improving access to healthcare, making education more inclusive, strengthening emergency response, promoting sustainability, and reducing inequalities. Technology ceased to be the main focus and became a means to an end.
The global trend towards purpose-driven AI is no longer just an aspiration. And in that sense, Catalonia is not starting from scratch. One of the best examples could be seen precisely at the AI for Good Global Summit within the framework of the Innovation Factory, the international startup competition promoted by the ITU.
Among the selected projects was the Catalan startup Emily AI, winner of the Catalan chapter of the Innovation Factory, promoted by the Secretariat of Digital Policies within the framework of the Digital Catalonia Alliance (DCA). Its solution, based on the use of AI to personalize oxygen therapies, is an example of how Catalan innovation competes internationally by addressing health challenges with a direct impact on people.
Emily AI is not an isolated case. It reflects an ecosystem that, for years, has been committed to a particular way of understanding innovation: putting technology at the service of social and economic challenges.
In Catalonia, the idea of putting technology at the service of people has long been part of the innovation agenda. Through the Digital Catalonia Alliance, this vision is realized, among other initiatives, in the Tech4Good commission, a space that brings together companies, startups, and organizations with the aim of sharing experiences, fostering collaborations, and demonstrating that innovation can also be a tool for social transformation.
This same understanding of innovation also inspires the work of i2CAT. The center works with a mission-oriented approach: it starts with the challenge and identifies which technology can address it. That’s why it promotes resilient, sovereign, reliable, and human-centered AI, combining the development of leading technologies with research on their social impacts, ethics, governance, and digital rights. Because purposeful AI depends not only on the quality of the algorithms, but also on the ability to understand real needs, measure its impact, and build trust.
This approach is embodied in projects such as ONA, an assistant for calculating medications in pediatric emergencies; AI solutions for anticipating risks in the field; and open innovation initiatives like DCA Challenge, which connects organizational challenges with the capabilities of the Catalan technology ecosystem. It also translates into projects
developed with the Government of Catalonia to promote a more innovative and efficient administration focused on improving people’s lives.
We will likely continue to see spectacular advances in the capabilities of artificial intelligence models in the coming years. But leadership will not be measured solely by the number of parameters or computing power. It will also be measured by the ability to build trust, promote responsible governance, and, above all, demonstrate that AI contributes to building a more prosperous, inclusive, and democratic society.
Catalonia has the necessary ingredients to lead this global movement. Innovative companies, talent, public policies aligned with this vision, and initiatives such as the Digital Catalonia Alliance, along with centers of research excellence, create an ecosystem capable of transforming artificial intelligence into a driver of competitiveness, social progress, and improved quality of life.