CAF promotes regional governance in Artificial Intelligence at the AI ??Summit

CAF -development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean- participated in the 'IA Summit', a high-level event organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies of Colombia, on August 8 and 9 in Cartagena. This meeting brought together 300 international and national guests, including 22 ministers and 10 ministerial authorities from 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the aim of discussing the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in the region.

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, participated in the meeting and defined artificial intelligence as “a mechanism of knowledge and logical thinking aimed at increasing production,” underscoring the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean coming together to study the implications of AI in our societies and build joint proposals.

The summit was inaugurated by Mauricio Lizcano, ICT Minister of Colombia, and Luis Gilberto Murillo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. In his opening speech, Lizcano highlighted the need to “go from being consumers of technology to producers,” noting that this summit represents “a unique and valuable opportunity for our countries to unite under that purpose.” For his part, Murillo called for developing AI “from an ethical and moral perspective, which does not discriminate against certain groups in favor of others and can break stereotypes and paradigms.”

Rodrigo Peñailillo, CAF representative in Colombia, presented the initiatives that CAF is developing in the field of artificial intelligence, highlighting three key points: collaboration with UNESCO to promote regional governance in AI; the creation of an enablers guide that allows governments in the region to develop policies that promote AI; and the design of financial instruments that promote AI projects at both the national and subnational levels.

During a ministerial round table moderated by Almudena Fernández, leader of the UNDP Development and SDG team, Enrique Zapata, senior executive of Digital Transformation at CAF, emphasized that “artificial intelligence must have a long-term vision that transcends political and focus on its impact for humanity.”

The AI ??Summit in Cartagena is part of a comprehensive process that began in 2023 with the Ministerial Summit in Chile, held on October 23 and 24, with the support of CAF and UNESCO. This process continues with the development of a roadmap for AI in the region, which will be debated at the Montevideo Ministerial Summit on October 3 and 4. This initiative is promoted by the Electronic Government and Information and Knowledge Society Agency of Uruguay, CAF and UNESCO.

In this way, at CAF we seek to reinforce our commitment to leading digital transformation in the region, promoting artificial intelligence that is inclusive, ethical and aligned with sustainable development objectives.