Transcript
What influence does AI have on economic relations between Latin America and Europe?
AI is one of the most important technologies in the world right now. Each region, more specifically each country, is trying to figure out how AI technology impacts its economic context, and therefore its economic development. Also, what is the real potential of each region and each country around this topic? AI is a very broad term, it can include many different technologies, including different algorithms and different uses. For instance, in Latin America, in Brazil, many interesting areas are already affected by AI that are not the same in other Latin American countries. Brazil is a huge agricultural country.
To apply artificial intelligence in agriculture in Brazil or other words, in the rural field, is a very important vertical, despite the rural field. How to apply AI to smart cities in industry, 4.0 context, is something that each country is already trying to clarify and build a specific strategy upon. By the idea of applying AI in Latin American countries, it deals with partnerships with other regions. Most of the advanced AI models that we have right now in the world come from the US.
Very important companies are providing AI technology right now and that demands specific partnerships between the companies or even between governments, including for security purposes. Europe is the second largest region that builds advanced AI models and China in third. So, it's interesting to perceive Latin American countries as independent actors in a huge geopolitical race with very important players. I cited three of the major ones, the US, Europe and China. We don't have any Latin American countries in this first league of AI development, but they are important countries in AI applications. Many Latin American countries already have a national strategy for artificial intelligence, but some of them are not sufficiently robust. It's important to narrow down the strategies right now to figure out to figure out which partnership would be more important and how AI specifically applies to economic development in the region.
What opportunities and risks do you see in the integration of AI in the economic relations of these two regions?
First of all, digital sovereignty, even Europe is currently struggling with the problem of digital sovereignty, because many technologies related to AI do not come from Europe. Some of them should be developed by the European Union to ensure a stronger digital sovereignty. There is a lot of discussion about this in Europe. In addition, there are many implicit risks in the use of such a powerful technology. We could think about cybersecurity and cyberattacks. AI can increase the risks and problems of cyber attacks. We could think about privacy, some technologies are developed by certain countries where the value of privacy is not as robust or as important as in different regions. Each country needs to have a clear view of the development of each technology to see if it fits with the cultural principles of that country, especially since some countries in Latin America are not developing themselves. It's different if it's developed by China, the US, India or Europe. Some players are just importing and adopting technology without a good understanding of the risks. There are also some interesting discussions about the ethical principles of AI.
When a particular country adopts AI technology, they're mostly interested in the benefits of it and less interested in the ethical principles that were part of the design. So right now we are having a more mature debate about what are the ethical principles that should be built into the design of AI technologies. And I'm talking about human oversight to have a human envelope in the automated decisions, accountability for justice, transparency, accountability.
In addition to the other dimensions, privacy, security, et cetera. We need to have a more assertive view of the technology that we adopt. Not just looking at the initial benefits that it brings to the consumer, to the company, to the business itself, but also how the design is developed and whether or not it incorporates ethical principles. Some countries put more emphasis on this discussion than others. But I would say that this discussion is here to stay and we have a clearer view of ethical principles than we did 10 years ago.
What measures can states or companies take to minimise the risks of AI in international relations?
Some companies are emphasizing this by saying that they value privacy and security. And that creates an interesting effect on the market. On the other hand, companies that do not pay attention to these principles are facing problems with the authorities, which could be AI authorities, data protection authorities, and consumer authorities. Because they are only focused on the business itself and not on their reputation or their trustworthiness to consumers. But we can already see a shift in the market because many, many companies are developing or importing or launching AI products. AI products are concerned about having a good reputation.
What measures can states or companies take to utilise the opportunities of AI in international relations?
First of all, in Latin America, for example, these technologies come from abroad, so it's part of international relations and international trade. But it's also important to think about regional development, because it also touches on the issue I just mentioned of digital sovereignty, which has been discussed in Europe and, and in Latin America. So I could say that while it's very important to think about international trade and partnerships, it's also important to think about national and regional development on these issues.