SANTIAGO, Chile, CMC – The Financial Fee for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has launched a brand new publication that systematically measures the extent of preparedness, adoption, and governance of synthetic intelligence (AI) in 19 nations of the area.
The third version of the Latin American Synthetic Intelligence Index (ILIA 2025) was finished in collaboration with the Nationwide Heart for Synthetic Intelligence of Chile.
Primarily based on greater than 100 sub-indicators organized into three dimensions, enabling elements, analysis, growth, and adoption, and governance, the report supplies an in depth overview of the progress made and the challenges that Latin America and the Caribbean nonetheless face on this subject.
The outcomes present that the area is accelerating AI adoption, surpassing what is likely to be anticipated given its digital weight.
In keeping with ECLAC estimates, Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14 p.c of world visits to AI options, in comparison with an 11 p.c share of the world’s web customers. Nevertheless, this pattern is marked by sharp contrasts throughout nations within the area.
ILIA categorizes nations into three teams primarily based on their stage of maturity: pioneers, adopters, and explorers.
The research highlights important structural gaps in expertise, funding, and governance. Particularly, superior coaching in AI stays inadequate and is concentrated in a small variety of nations. Since 2022, the expertise hole relative to the worldwide common has widened, related to an accelerated mind drain of specialists.
When it comes to funding, Latin America and the Caribbean account for six.6 p.c of world GDP, however obtain only one.12 p.c of world AI funding.
“This severely restricts the area’s means to scale productive, technological and progressive initiatives, in line with the report ready with the help of the European Union–Latin America and Caribbean Digital Alliance (EU–LAC) venture and a number of other educational, private and non-private organizations.”
The report additionally warns that, whereas a rising variety of nations have developed nationwide AI methods, most lack satisfactory financing, implementation mechanisms, and affect analysis programs, thereby lowering the effectiveness of those insurance policies.
Moreover, environmental and gender equality approaches are largely absent, regardless of their significance for sustainable and inclusive growth. Insurance policies additionally are likely to deal with regulatory points, moderately than consolidating a technological ecosystem to help productiveness and well-being.
In keeping with the doc, AI adoption within the area is concentrated in a small group of nations. It’s primarily oriented towards the consumption of ready-made, end-user options with low technical necessities.
Nevertheless, the rising curiosity in such instruments creates a possibility to democratize innovation and improve productiveness, as AI can generate important advantages throughout economies of various sizes and buildings—offered there are favorable environments for innovation and entrepreneurship.
“ILIA 2025 confirms that synthetic intelligence can develop into a driver for overcoming the event traps of Latin America and the Caribbean,” mentioned ECLAC’s govt secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.
“However for this to occur, it’s important to align digitalization insurance policies with productive growth insurance policies, together with the digital transformation of precedence sectors, to shut infrastructure, expertise, innovation, and governance gaps, whereas additionally advancing regional cooperation to make sure an moral, inclusive, and accountable use of this know-how,” he added.
Salazar-Xirinachs acknowledged that AI adoption can contribute to the design of recent productive methods, democratizing entry to schooling, well being, and different public providers, increasing social safety, lowering gender gaps, and decreasing environmental air pollution, amongst different areas.
ECLAC acknowledged that the Latin American Synthetic Intelligence Index is an important benchmark for guiding evidence-based policymaking and assessing the implementation and progress of such insurance policies, thereby guaranteeing the event of AI that’s geared towards a extra productive, inclusive, and sustainable future for the area.
