In strategic communication AI turns asymmetries into opportunities
Fincantieri is the only shipbuilding group in the world to be present in all segments of high value-added shipbuilding and is committed to the constant development of new technologies that will become the enabling tool to improve the Group’s technical capabilities and strengthen market leadership.
Speaking about new technologies, and especially in communication, which is a sort of “natural” field of application, generative AI is the most disruptive one of the last decades and is set to take center stage in the near future. From research to creativity to planning and production, generative AI will enable media to significantly increase their effectiveness. The most modern entirely AI-generated contents hint at the level of sophistication the technology has reached, it is impressive to see what the impact of AI can be in terms of communication and misinformation.
At our last corporate convention, we highlighted the transformative power of artificial intelligence. This technology has reached remarkable levels of sophistication, presenting both incredible opportunities and important challenges. In today's landscape, AI plays a pivotal role in reshaping industries, enhancing communication, and driving innovation. Indeed, our digital avatars also testify our ability to use emerging technologies as strategic assets. While there are potential risks associated with its misuse, particularly concerning accuracy and communication, the benefits are undeniable. AI is no longer merely an option, it has become a strategic necessity for staying competitive and advancing in an ever-evolving business environment. It allows us to rethink processes, innovate business models, and create sustainable value on an unprecedented scale.
In Fincantieri we have invested heavily, also because the ability to learn and mobilize huge amounts of data and information resources puts us in the position not only to communicate in a timely manner with tools and modalities that until yesterday – or rather, until a few hours ago – were not even imaginable and inaccessible to “us humans”, but also allows us to update in real time our ability to distinguish between information and disinformation, and to act accordingly.
As we know, today disinformation is one of the most pervasive and insidious fields, against which no one can make himself technologically backward. Recent intelligence reports revealed that strategic national companies are more and more targets of disinformation campaigns. Our AI processes millions of data points a day to identify and counter these threats.
We then develop awareness campaigns with our cybersecurity department to train managers to recognize phishing attacks and threats from hackers who imitate the voices of key business figures to deceive our staff. The battle for truth, which means competitive loyalty in all aspects, economic but also reputational and moral, is fought in cyberspace, and AI is an indispensable ally.
In Fincantieri we have therefore rethought the role of AI in communication: not just a threat, but a great opportunity and a powerful ally, what I call our “superhero” in this historic moment. Our strategy is based on the concept of asymmetry, leveraging AI to turn potential disadvantages into medium and long-term advantages. Our approach manifests itself in three critical areas, which are competitiveness asymmetry, information resource asymmetry, and knowledge asymmetry.
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In a world where competitiveness is no longer determined by the size of players, but by the resources invested in knowledge, and the speed of innovation is frantic, AI redefines the rules of the game. Many companies find in it only an opportunity to streamline processes and cut costs; for us, it is a tool to focus on and, above all, we recognize a real multiplier of value. So, in terms of competition, the asymmetry doesn’t mean to do things cheaper, but to do things that others cannot or cannot yet do. An MIT Sloan study confirms that companies that invest in AI with strategic purpose have as much as a 40% increase in productivity. It is critical to think big so as not to fall behind, setting specific goals to make the most of such an important resource.
The second type of asymmetry relates to information resources. Disinformation is today, as we know, one of the most pervasive and insidious terrains against which no one can be unprepared. As said, strategic national companies like ours are increasingly targeted by disinformation campaigns that are fast, sophisticated, precise, rapid. AI for us becomes the shield and the sword to counter these attacks, as we are now able to analyze, monitor, catalog, send a huge amount of data in real time to use it to our advantage.
The third asymmetry, which is very important to us, concerns knowledge. For once we can say that Italy boasts a company that is a global leader, moreover it is in shipbuilding, which means building the most complicated object, the ship. Not only that, Fincantieri is the only shipbuilding group in the world that is present in all segments of very high complexity. In other words, the environment in which we operate is highly specialized. For us, knowledge is power. However, in today’s job market, it is increasingly difficult to find people who can speak our language, who know engineering, and who, at the same time, understand geopolitical dynamics that are becoming more articulated every day. We can have good communication experts, but we cannot expect these people to also be experts in all the other layers and aspects that make up the industry in which we navigate. AI helps us bridge this gap. I give the example of training our people. Maybe we used to be able to afford to train people in one year, today we have to do it in one month. Thanks to AI we have estimated a 50% reduction in the time needed. This means that we can more confidently hire capable people in their segment, and then leave the knowledge language to AI. This is, at least in part, a revolution, affecting many other aspects of business life.
In conclusion, AI and its application in communication strategies represents a resource destined to change the paradigms of our world. It is an investment in intelligence that increasingly enhances human capabilities to compete globally, respond with increasing readiness to cyber threats, empower our workforce, and thus focus on the thinking, the decision-making aspect, which remains the absolute preserve of the human being.
Lorenza Pigozzi , EVP Group Strategic Communication
Chief Marketing Officer at Cadmatic
1moMadalina Florean FYI very interesting take on AI from FINCANTIERI