SANTO DOMINGO – Countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have adopted a new Regional Roadmap for ethical, inclusive and human-centered artificial intelligence to guide joint work through 2026-2027.
The agreement came at the Third Ministerial Summit on AI Ethics, held in the Dominican Republic and organized by UNESCO, the Dominican government, CAF, and the European Union. Delegates from governments, academia, civil society, the private sector and UN agencies took part.
The Summit built on previous meetings in Chile in 2023 and Uruguay in 2024. This year’s focus was moving from principles to action, with concrete priorities and stronger cooperation mechanisms to help countries implement national AI policies.
Leaders stressed that AI is now a cross-cutting public policy issue. They called for education, health, economy, justice and local governments to be involved in designing AI strategies, not just tech ministries. Reducing inequality, expanding digital literacy, and training officials, teachers, journalists and citizens were set as key goals.
Environmental impact was also highlighted, with a push for AI that supports climate action and sustainable use of resources.
The meeting recorded the highest participation so far, especially from Caribbean nations. Participants agreed to strengthen five regional working groups and keep collaboration going between summits. UNESCO will continue providing technical support to help put the UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics into practice across the region.
The goal, they said, is a common Latin American and Caribbean voice in global discussions on AI governance, based on cooperation and shared responsibility.