Latam’s Last Chance to Lead a Homegrown Approach to Ethical Tech

Latin America is experiencing a pivotal moment in its technological history. Artificial intelligence and other digital technologies are advancing at unprecedented speed, reshaping markets, businesses, and institutions. This transformation offers the region a unique opportunity not merely to adopt external models, but to define its own path and lead the development of technologies that are fair, socially grounded, and aligned with regional realities.

This opportunity is strategic. It has the potential to foster public policies that work in practice, strengthen the competitiveness of regional companies, and protect fundamental rights in societies marked by deep inequality and rich cultural diversity. The challenge is not rhetorical. It is about making deliberate, long-term decisions that can generate real and lasting impact.

Beyond Europe and the United States, a central question emerges: why should Latin America avoid simply copying existing models? The region has its own structural conditions, institutional capacities, and social priorities. Each country operates within a distinct economic, political, and cultural ecosystem, with specific strengths and limitations that cannot be addressed through imported frameworks alone.

Latin America’s cultural richness, historical depth, and abundance of natural resources provide a strong foundation for developing original technological solutions. Rather than replicating external approaches, the region can leverage these assets to pursue autonomous and sustainable growth, anchored in its own values and social priorities.

Regional collaboration is critical. By sharing experiences and best practices, Latin American countries can learn collectively while preserving their identities. The objective is balance: learning from global developments without losing authenticity or strategic autonomy.

At the global level, two dominant approaches shape the current narrative of technological governance:

• Europe, through structured regulatory frameworks such as the AI Act, prioritizes transparency, safety, and the protection of fundamental rights.

• The United States relies primarily on private-sector innovation and venture capital leadership, often within fragmented regulatory environments.

Transplanting these models without adaptation can be counterproductive. European-style rigidity may constrain innovation in emerging economies, while the US model risks deepening technological asymmetries and data concentration. Latin America therefore has the opportunity (and responsibility) to articulate its own ethical and governance framework for technology, one that reflects its needs and capacities.

Inequality, Public Perception, Demand for Regulation

Regional context matters. Inequality (economic, social, and digital) shapes how citizens perceive technological change and the role of regulation. Public opinion is not abstract; it reflects lived experience, access to services, and trust in institutions.

Demands for regulation often arise when citizens perceive that technology may exacerbate existing challenges, such as poverty, lack of access to education or healthcare, or environmental degradation. In this sense, regulation becomes a tool to rebalance power and promote fairness.

Empirical evidence supports this dynamic. A study by the DemocracIA project shows that 55% of Latin Americans support regulating AI, rising to 65% among those with greater technological knowledge, while only 28% believe their countries are prepared to address these challenges. Concerns about inequality, polarization, and digital surveillance are recurring themes in regional debates.

This landscape underscores a key point: governance models must be aligned with regional values, histories, and expectations. Ethical technology in Latin America cannot be a carbon copy of external frameworks; it must be grounded in local legitimacy.

Builders of a Latin American Ethical Narrative

In response to these realities, multiple initiatives have emerged to consolidate a Latin American voice in technological ethics.

Regional platforms for dialogue and action

The Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean has become a central space for collaboration among governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector. It builds on commitments such as the Montevideo Declaration and advances a regional roadmap for ethical AI governance.

In parallel, regional ministerial summits held in cities such as Santiago de Chile and Montevideo have generated multilateral political commitments to design governance frameworks that reflect the diversity of contexts across the region.

Ethics Networks and Consortia

Organizations such as the Consejo Latinoamericano de Ética en Tecnología (CLETec) promote interdisciplinary dialogue to guide the responsible development and use of technology, integrating principles of inclusion, transparency, and sustainability.

Similarly, EticALIA, the Consortium of Ethics for Public Policies on Artificial Intelligence for Latin America and the Caribbean, focuses on generating ethical guidelines and public policy recommendations addressing algorithmic bias, equity, data sovereignty, and citizens’ rights from a regional perspective.

Building Ethical Principles With a Latin American Approach

Beyond platforms and networks, ethical charters and proposals originating in the region aim to address shared structural challenges. The Latin American Ethical Charter for Artificial Intelligence, for example, emphasizes the inclusion of Indigenous and Afro-descendant perspectives, radical transparency in systems affecting public services, and strict protection of privacy and data sovereignty as expressions of human dignity.

These initiatives situate ethical debates (such as algorithmic justice, gender equality, and linguistic inclusion) within the political and cultural priorities of Latin America.

Strategic Benefits

A regional ethical framework offers tangible strategic advantages:

Responsible governance and trust. Emerging economies compete not only on infrastructure, but on credibility. Clear, fair, and context-aware rules can attract responsible foreign investment and foster long-term partnerships.

Inclusion-driven innovation. AI systems that reflect cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity are more relevant and equitable. Research shows that models trained with region-specific cultural data improve expressiveness and fairness, particularly in education, justice, and public services.

Digital sovereignty and human rights. A homegrown ethical model strengthens data sovereignty, privacy, and citizen autonomy — critical issues in regions historically affected by global power imbalances.

Toward a Latin American Vision

Developing a regional narrative does not imply rejecting global standards. On the contrary, Latin America can engage constructively with frameworks from organizations such as UNESCO and the OECD, adopting universal principles while reinterpreting them through its own social, structural, and cultural lenses.

The challenge ahead lies in strengthening multilateral institutions, building local capacities in governance and ethics, and fostering active citizen participation in decisions that will define the technological trajectory of the 21st century.

Only then can Latin America transform technological ethics into a driver of inclusion, justice, and regional competitiveness, not as a replica of the Global North but as an authentic and strategic proposal with real impact on society and the global economy.

Sources:

European Commission – EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act)
https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/

El País – DemocracIA Project
https://elpais.com/america/2024-12-13/el-55-de-latinoamericanos-esta-a-favor-de-regular-la-inteligencia-artificial.html

Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean
https://foroialac.org/

UNESCO – An ethical and inclusive artificial intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ethical-and-inclusive-artificial-intelligence-latin-america-and-caribbean

Telefónica Foundation / UNESCO Ministerial Summit
https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/blog/2nd-unesco-ministerial-summit-ethics-ai-latin-america-caribbean/

Consejo Latinoamericano de Ética en Tecnología (CLETec)
https://cletec.org/
https://mx.linkedin.com/company/etica-latam

EticALIA Consortium
https://eticalia.uff.br/

Federación Obrera Ecuatoriana de Chimborazo (FOEC)
https://www.foec.edu.ec/carta-etica-ia-latinoamerica/

arXiv – Advancing Equitable AI
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.04090

Americas Quarterly – Regulating AI on Latin America’s Terms
https://americasquarterly.org/article/regulating-ai-on-latin-americas-terms/

Notice of AI Use: This article was drafted with the support of artificial intelligence tools only for formatting purposes. The content is original, developed by the author, ensuring rigor, veracity, and clarity.