LatAm in Focus: What AI's "Tectonic Change" Means for Latin America

Melguizo also pointed out that AI represents a big opportunity for governments to be more efficient and make cities more livable. In Latin America, “maybe that’s transportation time,” says the Bogotá-based economist, stressing that countries need to invest in skills to make the public sector more inclusive, particularly in sectors such as health and education. It can also help smaller economies with lower tax revenues that “can’t afford to make mistakes” more efficiently distribute public resources.

Melguizo identifies policies such as managing data to avoid biases and respecting large international agreements that prohibit social scoring to ensure AI doesn’t tamper with Latin America’s democracies. And he says a “coalition of the good” should bring together the government, private sector, and multilateral institutions for ethical AI use under human control. “The reason for hope—for why I hope a dystopian future doesn’t materialize—is because we make sure that we work together and join forces.”

This episode was produced by Executive Producer Luisa Leme. Carin Zissis is the host. 

The music in this episode is "Thakita” by Ganesh Anandan, performed by Alejandro Escuer and Felipe Perez Santiago for Americas Society.   

Learn more about and subscribe to Latin America in Focus: www.as-coa.org/podcast 

Send us feedback at: latamfocus@as-coa.org