Artificial Intelligence, the phase by geographic regions

A model of artificial intelligence (AI) developed in Latin America, which takes into account the cultural specificity of the region, will be launched in mid-2025, according to the announcement made by the National Center for Artificial Intelligence of Chile (Cenia). The project, called "LatamGPT", is supported by about 30 institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, including universities, foundations and libraries.

LatamGPT aims to provide a regionalized approach to AI, reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of Latin America, not only by using Spanish and Portuguese, but also by understanding the cultural and social particularities of the region. The Minister of Science of Chile, Aisen Etcheverry, stressed the importance of such a model: "When we talk about artificial intelligence, it must reflect the world in which we live, its diversity. And in the case of Latin America, it is not just about speaking Spanish or Portuguese, but about understanding our idiosyncrasies, about making a contribution based on our culture and vision of the world". A distinctive feature of LatamGPT is its open nature, which will allow specialists and institutions in the region to study, use and improve the model. Over eight terabytes of textual data were collected for its development, the equivalent of millions of books, and the management of this data is carried out by a center at the University of Tarapaca in Chile. The launch of LatamGPT takes place in a global context in which the development of AI is experiencing a significant acceleration. For example, in January 2025, the Chinese start-up DeepSeek introduced the R1 chatbot, capable of competing with American AI models at a lower cost. Furthermore, at the recent Paris Summit on Artificial Intelligence, 58 countries, including China, France and India, called for better coordination of AI governance and avoiding market concentration to make the technology more accessible.

LatamGPT represents an important step for Latin America in the field of AI, offering an alternative to the models developed by the great technological powers and contributing to the diversity of the global AI landscape.