AI Regulation in Latin America Requires a Thoughtful Process

Maia Levy Daniel is a tech policy and regulation specialist and a research affiliate at the Center of Technology and Society (CETyS) at Universidad de San Andrés in Argentina. Similar to what is happening in other regions, countries in Latin America are currently discussing how to deal with artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI applications. For several reasons, the scenario is different from the one in the U.S. or Europe, but these technologies are already being used and developed, and alarms have been raised. I previously shared a few thoughts for Tech Policy Press on the use of AI and emerging technologies by the public sector in the region–and, particularly, missteps in more than one judiciary. Here, I discuss some recent policy developments, and examine a few points made in a recent piece by Elisabeth Sylvan and Armando Guio Español at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, which offers recommendations to Latin American governments on the steps they should take around generative AI regulation. Latin American legislators have introduced a variety of new measures related to AI in recent months. Perú recently passed a law promoting the use and development of AI to improve public services, and any economic and social activity at the national level, and declaring its use of national interest. In Costa Rica, a group of legislators recently presented a bill on AI regulation–which, ironically, was written by ChatGPT. Finally, in Argentina, the national government published a document entitled “Recommendations for a trustworthy AI”, aimed…AI Regulation in Latin America Requires a Thoughtful Process