Chilean salmon company Ventisqueros executive writes: AI can warn of farming risks, but judgement must still be made by people

Chilean aquaculture media outlet Mundo Acuícola published a signed commentary on November 4, 2026, authored by Francisco Bellolio, Transformation and People General Manager at salmon farming company Ventisqueros, under the title "Critical Thinking: The Skill We Really Need in the Age of Artificial Intelligence."

In the article, Bellolio notes that artificial intelligence can already analyze information, automate tasks and explore multiple alternatives within seconds, and that its range of applications will continue to expand. But he argues that more worth asking than "which tool to adopt" is whether people are cultivating the ability to think better with the help of AI.

The article cites data from the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, stating that analytical thinking was ranked by employers as the most important core skill, with 69% of employers considering this ability indispensable. The author's explanation is that the more tools there are for producing answers, the more important the ability to evaluate those answers becomes.

On the gap between investment in tools and business results, the article cites a 2026 McKinsey global study: 80% of respondents said artificial intelligence improved their personal productivity, but only 37% of respondents believed that using AI had a positive impact on their organization's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). The author writes on this basis that doing more does not necessarily lead to better results.

As for what critical thinking specifically means, Bellolio defines it as: understanding the assumptions behind a conclusion, distinguishing data from interpretation, and identifying what information is still missing—rather than questioning everything. He notes that an answer may look convincing yet not necessarily be correct, nor necessarily useful for the decision at hand.

The article also describes an approach used by McKinsey in training professionals: studying different topics, forming one's own view and defending it before others, answering questions and testing arguments against one another. The author says the goal is not to know everything, but to learn to build one's own judgement. He argues that asking within an organization where a number comes from, or which scenario was excluded, should not be seen as confrontation but as a way to improve decision-making.

In the specific context of salmon farming, Bellolio gives the example that an artificial intelligence system can, based on production, health and environmental variables, predict a deterioration in the performance of a given farming center. But he stresses that the value lies not only in receiving the alert, but in the team cross-checking the prediction against on-site observations, questioning the prediction's assumptions, and deciding in time how to act.

The article writes that AI can help people detect signals that would otherwise be overlooked and respond to problems in advance, but interpreting results, integrating them with business knowledge and turning them into action must still be done by people. He therefore argues that leaders should not only ask how many people are using these tools, but which decisions have been improved because of them.

Bellolio mentions in the article the view from his previous column: high performance begins when people take the initiative to own improvement, without being asked by others. He says this kind of autonomy requires not only initiative but also judgement—the ability to identify what is worth changing, and to question answers that look correct.

The article's conclusion is: artificial intelligence can extend human capabilities, but should not replace human judgement; transformation does not happen when tools are introduced, but when people learn to think, decide and act better with the help of tools. The article was published on the Mundo Acuícola website with the tags "Acuícola, Acuicultura, circular economy, IA, aquaculture industry, salmon industry, innovation, artificial intelligence, technology, Ventisqueros," and related reports in the same section include the November 3 piece "Frontero launches dedicated digital platform for salmon farming."