Chile's mining industry reported 58 accidents and 68 deaths in the last five years (2017-21), according to geology and mining bureau Sernageomin. Those grim figures could change with the internet of things and artificial intelligence through metrics and predictive models that manage human errors and save lives. That is the technological option of a local start-up, Gauss Control, which in 2020 received recognition from the MIT Technology Review as one of the main innovators in Latin America. Today it monitors more than 20,000 workers, many in the mining industry, where most accidents are caused by the operation of equipment such as trucks, buses, pick-ups, mechanical shovels, etc. To find out how new technological devices can help reduce accidents and fatalities in the mining sector, BNamericas spoke with José Rafael Campino, founder and CEO of Gauss Control.

Only 19% of Argentine companies are using artificial intelligence (AI), but the figure is set to rise, as 60% of companies are exploring its use, …

Chile joins the group of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, which, within the region, recently presented AI strategies.

Digital channels targeting the mass consumer market are helping insurers swell their client base without the need for traditional intermediaries – but at a cost. One cost is increased risk of fraud, global insurance fraud analytics firm FRISS said during an event in Chile outlining the results of the first fraud survey of its kind covering all Latin America. As technology develops and purchasing habits change, insurers are increasingly leveraging digital channels, allowing consumers to take out policies online, directly from an insurer, in a largely frictionless manner. The trend is forecast to continue in Latin America as insurers seek to keep costs under control, tap what is still an underpenetrated market, and stand out from the crowd. One consequence of this is the sidelining of brokers, whose detailed client knowledge can help prevent fraud, said FRISS, a Dutch firm that provides an AI-powered platform to help P&C insurers combat fraud and which carried out the survey of insurance companies.

Artificial intelligence is one of a series of technologies that are on the radar for implementation in Chile's mining industry. AI, which, simply put, is the ability of a computer program or machine to think and learn from observing large quantities of data, to identify trends and make recommendations to improve decision making, all in a matter of milliseconds. The impending tsunami of data that will be collected from sensors and internet of things (IoT) devices will be too overwhelming for humans to compute. Businesses that are able to compute and extract value from huge volumes of data are expected to have a key advantage over their competitors by being able to improve efficiency, productivity and lower costs as well as identify new business opportunities. A recent study by consultancy Accenture, showed 82% of executives in the global mining industry expecting to increase investment in digital technology over the next three years.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are shaping the business processes across different industries. According to California-based customer service company Zendesk, 81% of Brazilian consumers would not hesitate to abandon a brand if they received poor service. Given this scenario, companies need to constantly seek for tools that help them stay competitive, ensuring the satisfaction of users by recognizing their service area as key for business transformation. "Companies are increasingly looking for artificial intelligence solutions, especially startups, as they look to do more with less, to have more productivity at lower cost," Zendesk Brasil sales director Marcelo Rocha told BNamericas. Zendesk provides customer services solutions to 145,000 customers in over 30 languages.