How Mexican Talent Can Lead the Future of Artificial Intelligence

At the start of the 2000s, the most in-demand roles were in traditional fields like manufacturing, finance, and sales. Tech jobs mostly meant IT support or software development, and were found mostly in big companies. In Latin America, including Mexico, the digital economy was just beginning to take shape.

Today, the job landscape looks very different. Roles like UX designer, cybersecurity analyst, cloud architect, and social media manager are now common and in high demand across industries. The rise of digitization, smartphones, and data-driven services has transformed the skills employers need. In Mexico, the boom of fintechs, e-commerce platforms, and SaaS tools has made technical roles indispensable.

Now, we’re entering the next wave: the artificial intelligence era. According to the World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report 2023,” AI and automation could displace 83 million jobs globally by 2027, but could also create 69 million new ones. These aren’t just technical roles. AI is opening career paths in education, healthcare, law, ethics, and product strategy, and Mexico has the potential to lead this transformation.

AI Will Replace Jobs, but Create New Ones, Too

While job automation is real, it’s only part of the story. AI is also accelerating the creation of entirely new roles that barely existed a few years ago, and some are already emerging in Mexico.

Take the role of the AI trainer. These professionals teach AI systems how to interact with people more accurately. They review, label, and refine AI-generated responses to ensure they’re clear, logical, culturally relevant, and emotionally appropriate. It’s about improving how large language models behave in real-world contexts, from customer service to healthcare.

In Mexico, AI trainers are already working across multiple sectors, and these are not highly technical jobs. Almost anyone with strong language, communication, or critical thinking skills can apply. For example, educators and curriculum developers can help AI generate local learning content. Linguists, support agents, and therapists can improve tone, clarity, and cultural context. Many of these professionals don’t come from engineering backgrounds, but their work is key to building AI systems that people trust and use.

Another rising role is the prompt engineer, someone who crafts instructions to get better results from AI models. Think of it as a mix of coding logic, communication skills, and business context. Prompt engineers don’t build models, they help control them. As traditional software roles become more competitive, this is a natural evolution for many Mexican developers. Some are already using prompt design to automate workflows or enhance product features.

Why AI Needs Mexico’s Thinkers, Not Just Its Coders

One of the most surprising dynamics of the AI boom is how many non-tech professionals are playing a central role in its growth.

Take philosophy, for example. Mexico has over 25,000 professionals specialized in philosophy and ethics, a talent pool often overlooked in the tech world. But these professionals bring skills in logic, analysis, and communication that are increasingly valuable in roles like AI ethicist, compliance manager, or policy researcher. As AI systems scale, we need people who can ask tough questions, assess risks, and help set fair rules, and Mexico has a strong base of talent ready for that responsibility.

Another area with huge potential is healthcare. With the public system under pressure and private care often expensive, AI could help optimize diagnostics, triage, and treatment planning. Roles like AI developers, data engineers, and AI auditors, focused on healthcare applications, are not just relevant, they’re urgently needed. Mexico has the talent, from doctors to software engineers, to lead in this area, but we need to connect them so they can build solutions together.

What Needs to Happen Now

Mexico doesn’t need to wait for a national AI strategy to take action. Companies, universities, and individuals can start today by focusing on three key areas:

1. Training and Upskilling
AI isn’t just for engineers. There should be accessible programs that teach AI fundamentals across fields like business, education, design, psychology, and law. Public and private universities and schools should begin integrating basic AI education, including how data works, how algorithms are trained, and what ethical implications they carry, into their programs. 

2. Education Beyond Coding
We need to demystify that AI is just about writing an algorithm; in fact, it’s about knowing what to ask, how to guide it, and how to evaluate results. More people should understand that their role is to provide knowledge and context to the people building AI tools, not to become programmers.

3. Awareness and Role Reframing
Many AI-related roles already exist, but they’re mislabeled or misunderstood. Companies should help teams see how positions like project manager, researcher, or customer support evolve within AI-powered environments, and guide them through that shift.

4. Support for Local Innovation
We can’t afford to lose our talent to markets abroad. By supporting AI development through funding, partnerships, and tax incentives, we can keep skilled professionals in Mexico building solutions for our own needs, not just exporting capacity.

Artificial intelligence will define the next era of innovation. But behind every algorithm are people shaping its behavior, purpose, and fairness. Mexico has the creativity, diversity, and talent to thrive in this new world of work. We’re not starting from scratch, we’re already contributing.

The AI workforce of the future isn’t just coming. It’s already taking shape, and Mexico has what it takes to lead it.