The attempts to regulate the implementation of AI have multiplied around the world in the past years. While the focus of most initiatives in an ethical approach can be a starting point, it does not properly satisfy human rights standards. There is a need for specific regulation, particularly in Latin America, where several countries still lack basic safeguards to protect their citizens. At the same time, research has shown an underrepresentation of Latin American perspectives in the ongoing debates around AI and ethics that are driving a large part of the policy discussions on the matter. Within the given context, Derechos Digitales is developing empirical research to understand how AI is being implemented in the region and its impacts in terms of discrimination and violations of fundamental rights. It aims to inform the development of recommendations to orient national policymaking with evidence from the region and influence international debates from a Global South perspective.
Jamila is a member of the Feminist Framework for AI team from Derechos Digitales, Paper Cohort 2021.
Proper regulatory frameworks and a a critical approach to AI in Latin America are key for the advancement of any use of these technologies that are respectful of human rights and do not result in new forms of discrimination, which the region can not afford. Derechos Digitales is working towards that direction by producing empirical evidence of potential impacts and best practices in order to foster better policymaking in the field. It will produce a set of recommendations, toolkits and capacity building programs based on empirical findings about the implications of the implementation of AI systems for local governments aiming to create established capacities in the public sector to conduct human rights impact assessments at early stages of their design.
