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Selected ECLAC Publications on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development

Covers of selected ECLAC publications on AI and digital development

ECLAC Publications on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development

Research resources on artificial intelligence and digital government in Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

The overall objective of the expert group meeting was to review the findings of the draft study entitled “Caribbean artificial intelligence readiness: an exploratory review”, by presenting an overview of the study and its methodology and inviting feedback from experts, including Caribbean policymakers and regulators.

 

Artificial Intelligence offers extraordinary opportunities for accelerating human progress across a range of fields from healthcare and education, to combating climate change and disasters. This issue of FOCUS magazine discusses the potential impact of AI on the Caribbean, and avenues to develop tailored AI policies, governance systems, and to engage with AI issues at the international level.

 

The rapid advance of digital technologies and their increasingly cross-cutting applications have driven global transformations that are affecting the entire economy and all of society. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic marked a turning point in terms of how widely digital solutions are used, as they became vital tools for maintaining social and productive activities under the restrictions on face-to-face activities and movement put in place during the health emergency. Today, digitalization is seen as a key instrument for the transition to a new, more inclusive and sustainable development model. However, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean still face a series of structural challenges that prevent effective adoption of digital technologies. Progress towards an inclusive and sustainable digital transformation requires a number of measures and actions, which are addressed in this document.

 

Science, innovation, knowledge and digital technologies have played a fundamental role in the growth potential, social inclusion and environmental sustainability of countries in recent decades, and have become even more important in the context of the crisis caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. While Latin American and Caribbean countries have adopted various measures — many of them based on access to technology — to tackle the effects of the pandemic, the region’s structural challenges have become more pronounced, and the need for more comprehensive, complex, participatory and capable innovations systems more evident. This document identifies the areas where efforts should be focused to make progress towards new, more inclusive and sustainable development strategies in which science, technology and innovation are key players for a transformative recovery. 

 

Last updated: 18 December 2024