Headline: Portugal Plans to Train Nearly One-Third of Its Workforce in AI to Boost Productivity

A recent study has indicated that Portugal could significantly boost its productivity by training approximately 1.3 million workers, nearly a third of the employed population, to work with productive artificial intelligence (AI). This training is part of a strategy to achieve average productivity levels within the European Union by 2030. Historically, Portugal has struggled with low productivity, with its contribution to annual GDP growth averaging just 0.6% from 2010 to 2022, less than half of the EU average of 1.3%.

However, the study suggests that if Portugal swiftly adopts automation and productive AI technologies and prepares its workforce accordingly, this contribution could leap to 3.1% by 2030. Productive AI is a technology that creates new content, such as text, images, or computer code, by learning from past data. It differs from other forms of AI that typically categorize or identify data.

Senior partner Duarte Begonha highlighted the potential for Portugal to compete with the world's advanced economies in terms of growth through this initiative. The adoption of productive AI could present a transformative opportunity for the country.

Beyond training, the study also notes the need for around 320,000 workers currently in roles such as customer service or administrative support to transition to new positions. This shift will require collaboration between the public sector, private sector, and educational institutions.

Investment in these technologies and the accompanying organizational changes will be crucial. Begonha explained that for every 1 Euro spent on productive AI technologies, an additional 3 Euros should be invested in managing the transition within organizations. This indicates a significant financial commitment to retraining and restructuring the Portuguese workforce for AI adoption.