The National Center for Artificial Intelligence of Chile (CENIA) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) presented this Tuesday, September 24, 2024, the results of the 2nd edition of the Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index (ILIA 2024), a study led by CENIA that this year evaluated the situation of 19 countries in the region, measuring the level of preparation of each of them in relation to artificial intelligence (AI). Of the maximum ILIA score (100 points), Chile ranked first with 73.07 points, followed by Brazil (69.30) and Uruguay (64.98).
Other countries in the region follow in the “adoptive” category. These include Argentina (55.77), Colombia (52.64) and Mexico (51.40).
According to the study, despite the fact that the region has doubled the percentage of AI talent concentration in the workforce on average over the past eight years, no country has reached the levels that countries in the global north had at the beginning of the same period.
The three pioneering countries in AI (Chile, Brazil and Uruguay) have not only made progress in the implementation of AI-based technologies, but are also directing their national strategies towards the consolidation and expansion of these technologies in all sectors of their economy and society. They also have a favourable environment that fosters research, development and adoption of technologies, promoting innovation and application of AI.
Chile’s Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, Aisén Etcheverry, said: “Having an index of this nature helps us move forward with consistent policies and is essential for the success of these strategies. (…) Soon, those who are going to vote will not be informed by door-to-door or by what they read in formal media, but by content on social networks. For young people, the future they imagine is full of fears about how AI will replace them. That is the level of change and it is the digital transformation that we are all talking about. We are proud to be in a good position that means that as a State we have prepared ourselves. The challenges are endless and having a tool like this is essential.”
“The new technological revolution, marked by artificial intelligence, has the potential to become a key driver for overcoming the development traps in which Latin America and the Caribbean are mired. AI can drive innovation and address key challenges in health, education and the environment. AI can optimize government administrative processes, improve decision-making and better respond to citizen demands. But it can also deepen pre-existing socioeconomic gaps if we do not act quickly and decisively, especially in terms of investment, infrastructure, education, computing capabilities and regulation,” said ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, Javier Medina Vásquez.
“For the European Union, the European Union – Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Digital Partnership has become one of the central pillars of our Global Gateway strategy in the region. The EU-LAC Digital Partnership promotes the joint interest of our two regions in a human-centred digital transformation model. Artificial intelligence is a priority topic of this alliance and the focus of one of the high-level bi-regional political dialogues on digital issues, which will take place in November this year in Santiago together with the eLAC Ministerial. The expansion of this AI index launched today is a clear concrete example of cooperation between the EU and LAC on digitalisation,” said the Ambassador of the European Union in Chile, Claudia Gintersdorfer.
For his part, Rodrigo Durán, manager of CENIA, highlighted, among the main findings of the 2024 study, that “the incorporation of generative AI tools in the work carried out by people who work in the 100 most important occupations in Chile, which represent 5.69 million workers, could mean an increase of 1.21 percentage points of annual growth, equivalent to USD$3,381 million.”
Durán also pointed out that, although the development of human talent specialized in AI has increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, we are still far below the figures for the northern hemisphere. Likewise, there is a flight of talent that is not retained in the region, with the exception of Costa Rica and Uruguay, which have managed to attract more talent than they have lost. “The three countries that stand out the most in Human Talent are Chile (74.3), Uruguay (62.11) and Costa Rica (46.99),” says Durán.
The three pioneer countries have demonstrated maturity in the dimensions analysed: Enabling Factors; Research, Development and Adoption; and Governance. In general terms, they stand out for their efforts in key areas such as technological infrastructure, development of specialized talent, scientific productivity and innovation capacity.
The Research, Development and Adoption dimension, for example, shows an average of 47.41 points across 19 countries. The scores of Brazil (79.15), Chile (75.36), Uruguay (66.89) and Mexico (66.18) reflect the advanced capabilities in this area in these four countries. There are clearly ample opportunities for improvement in the rest of the countries that achieved low scores in this area, either due to low investment in AI or lack of incentives.
Regarding scientific development in artificial intelligence, ILIA observed a growing number of multidisciplinary publications associated with AI, reaching a total of 80% in the region. Nearly 70% of the publications are concentrated in 10 disciplines, led by clinical medicine.
In terms of infrastructure, Uruguay (67.90 points), Chile (67.58) and Costa Rica (55.86) lead the list, while Brazil (53.64) and Uruguay (50.77) stand out in terms of data availability. Finally, the countries with high computing capacity (those with a score over 35 points) are Costa Rica (51.11), Chile (45.81), Uruguay (41.92) and Argentina (37.68).
Regarding the impact of AI as a driver of regional development and entrepreneurship, ILIA 2024 shows that the most industrialized and competitive countries in the global market, such as Mexico and Brazil, exhibit better patenting rates, high-tech workers, unicorn companies, and cutting-edge technology manufacturing. In countries such as Chile, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, better levels of entrepreneurial environment, private investment, and the emergence of startups (emerging companies) are observed.
Regarding AI governance, Chile has shown a high level of development through public policies that transcend governments, promoting a long-term strategic vision for the adoption of artificial intelligence technology in an ethical and responsible manner, in addition to a regulatory framework that provides legal certainty and clear guidelines for the implementation of AI in the public and private sectors.
The study also highlights the opportunity offered by AI in terms of conversion and diversification of the productive matrix of countries, given that the adoption of AI technologies can boost innovation in sectors such as green energy, advanced manufacturing, agribusiness and financial services, creating new business opportunities and high value-added employment.
Persistent challenges in the region
Chile, like other countries in the region, faces challenges regarding the equal participation of women in AI research and development, which requires the implementation of gender-sensitive policies. On the other hand, although the importance of AI is recognized in Chile, the country should maintain a sense of urgency to continue allocating resources and efforts to the research, development and implementation of this technology in all key areas of the country, the study suggests.
About the launch event
The launch ceremony of the second edition of the Latin American AI Index was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation of Chile, Aisén Etcheverry; the Deputy Executive Secretary ai of ECLAC, Javier Medina Vásquez; the Ambassador of the European Union in Chile, Claudia Gintersdorfer; authorities from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-CAF and UNESCO, as well as specialists and actors from the AI ecosystem in Latin America.
The activity included a talk by international expert Néstor Maslej, research director at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), creator of the “AI Index”, a global barometer that measures the pulse and progress of AI. “I think that this year the index has taken a big step, as it is much broader and seems to include more indicators and more countries. It is important that they continue in the future to ensure as broad a coverage as possible, because the greater the coverage, the more significant and impactful the results will be (…) it is crucial that the actors, whether politicians or business leaders in the region, clearly understand where we are and what we can do to advance and improve,” highlights the expert.
The event also featured three successful cases, led by Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, of practical applications of AI in different areas: the “Humboldt Cable”, which represented important advances in connectivity for Chile; “Plu”, a chatbot that offers AI tools for teachers and students in Brazil; and the “Guacayama Project”, for the monitoring, conservation and protection of the Colombian Amazon.
Some comparative findings from the 2024 study:
● Chile stands out as a regional leader in AI with a high investment in technological infrastructure, training programs, and support policies, obtaining high scores in all dimensions of the index.
● Chile leads in the AI publication sub-indicators and in the number of active researchers, well above the regional average.
● Uruguay follows Chile in several dimensions, also standing out in infrastructure and human talent, which positions it among the pioneers of the region.
● Brazil stands out for its technological infrastructure and research and development capabilities, although it faces challenges in governance.
● Mexico performs well in AI research, development and adoption, but shows weaknesses in governance.
● Countries such as the Dominican Republic and Peru have a good level of governance, but face challenges in research, development and adoption of AI technologies.
● Panama leads in open source production, surpassing countries such as Uruguay and Costa Rica.
● Brazil and Mexico stand out in terms of the number of unicorn companies and patenting rates, reflecting a more consolidated innovation environment.
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