The former Barça player who's now making waves thanks to AI: "ChatGPT blew my mind."

BarcelonaThe season after winning the European Championship in Paris, Xavi Pascual gave Ángel Aparicio his first-team debut with Barça. The youngster debuted in both the Endesa League and the Euroleague. try your luck in the United States. "I went to the University of Toledo, where I was unable to play for a while due to the rules of transfers. Then, I tore my cruciate ligament." In total, almost three and a half years without playing led to a very premature retirement.

Aparicio reinvented himself and has become one of the most authoritative voices on artificial intelligence and automation. "My transition from elite athlete to AI and automation specialist was quite organic because, when I returned from the United States, I put basketball on hold. I was a bit burned out by all the injuries I suffered and even stopped using it. I started my working life in Barcelona and developed in the operations department at Glovo. I discovered the potential of artificial intelligence, and when I wanted to train, I saw that the options were too limited.

"When ChatGPT came along, that's when it blew my mind and I really focused on my training. I did it very self-taught. I also completed a master's degree, which helped me get into the world of automation," explains Aparicio. Currently, he has a triple focus. "They're things that go hand in hand. The first is being a disseminator of artificial intelligence and automation on social media, where people already know me well. In addition, I have a company that offers automation services for clients looking to improve their processes, which they still do manually and take up too much of their time. Automation," says the former Benicarló player.

Aparicio published her first video about finance, but later focused on her favorite topic. "When I started creating content on social media, the response was very good and my followers grew very quickly. In the first three months, I published a video a day, which is key to building a personal brand. Social media has been my showcase for gaining visibility and becoming a leader," she acknowledges. The next step was training. "I launched two AI courses and they went very well. I saw a very interesting niche. People really valued the automation aspect, so I decided to focus more on this topic, as I saw great potential," she summarizes.

Aparicio has no doubt that we are living in a historic moment. "Artificial intelligence will change our lives. None of the revolutions we've experienced can compare with it. The leading experts say the most comparable would be the discovery of fire. I'm optimistic. Jobs will surely disappear, but new ones will also emerge. It depends on the purpose of life that each of us has," he argues.

Bittersweet memory

"I have fond memories of my time as a player, of my time at La Masia and my experience in the United States, for example, but I recognize that perhaps I lacked the passion that I've now found in teaching. I was very good at basketball and went through all the youth categories of Barça and the Spanish national team until reaching the first team, but perhaps I still have a handicap, but I was brave enough to seek out new challenges that I was passionate about," he admits.

"Sport has helped me become competitive and resilient. When I set my mind to something, I won't let go until I achieve it. It's also helped me become very disciplined," he analyzes. "I've lost a lot of connection with the players from my time at Barça, but I maintain a very close bond with Michel Acosta. I joined La Masia with him when we were 11 years old, and we shared many things. Let's hope we can all meet again someday," he asks.