Origins

A recent analysis of Government AI readiness led by Oxford Insights and the IDRC listed no Latin American countries in their top 20 rankings citing three key challenges in harnessing the use of AI for the common good: policies, capacity, and adequate resources. They scored each country and government according to their preparedness to use AI in the delivery of public services. They’ve stated these findings as “a timely reminder of the ongoing inequality around access to AI.”

In this sense, this program aims at strengthening the capacities of several actors in the LATAM artificial intelligence ecosystem such as researchers, academics, students, nascent startups, NGOs, and civil societies interested in harnessing the potential of data science and AI for social or environmental endeavors. We intend to do so through access to infrastructure, the rich and vibrant of fellow LXAI members, as well as opportunities for improving their skills and proficiency in the state of the art in artificial intelligence, computer vision, natural language, and other related technologies.

Many LATAM countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Perú, Chile, Colombia, among others are developing their national AI strategies, and they conclude a need for the development and attraction of talent, technological infrastructure, international collaboration, and easy access to public data. However, many LATAM universities and research centers struggle to access high-performance computing due to high prices, low government investment in research, and limited international collaborations. We aim to tackle these issues by providing an international network of GPUs for LATAM access. This infrastructure can boost LATAM international collaboration, and seed early career professionals.