Colombia is moving rapidly to regulate artificial intelligence, promising rules that reflect local conditions, promote economic competitiveness, and address potential challenges, such as data protection and unequal access to emerging technologies. Despite the significant changes following Colombia’s last election, President Gustavo Petro has largely continued efforts to develop comprehensive AI laws and regulations.

So far, Colombia has not developed broad AI guidelines, relying on existing legislation to address issues such as the protection of personal data. However, Colombian experts say rules specific to AI are urgently needed, to address concerns such as algorithmic bias, transparency, and automated decision making. 

Image Credit

Latin Trade/Wilson Center

At a recent dialogue at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, co-hosted by the Wilson Center and Google, Colombia’s minister of information and communication technologies, Mauricio Lizcano, said Colombia was developing an ambitious national policy on artificial intelligence.

The project, he said, is designed to broaden the use of AI in government and in the private sector, increase productivity, and modernize the courts, while adhering to high international ethics standards. 

Image Credit

Latin Trade/Wilson Center

Challenges remain, however. Expanding the adoption of AI will be difficult, given the country’s “digital divide,” with especially limited access to digital technologies in rural areas. Moreover, public trust in AI technologies is not guaranteed, Colombia’s minister of science, Yesenia Olaya, explained at the Wilson Center’s Bogotá forum.