Chile launches national AI policy and introduces AI bill following UNESCO´s recommendations.

The country, following the recommendations of the Chilean AI Readiness Assessment Report elaborated by UNESCO, launched Chile's updated National AI Policy and action plan, as well as a proposed AI law that seeks to regulate and encourage the ethical and responsible development of this technology.

Those milestones were introduced in an important event which took place on Thursday 2 May in La Moneda in the presence of Ms Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General and Ms Aisén Etcheverry, Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation of Chile.

The AI bill introduced by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation seeks to promote the creation, development, innovation and implementation of human-centered AI systems and to guarantee the protection of people's health, safety and fundamental rights, as well as the protection of consumers from the harmful effects of certain uses of AI. The bill proposes an intersection between self-regulation and risk-based regulation, classifying AI systems into those presenting an unacceptable risk; a high level of risk; a limited level of risk; and no evident risk. The draft law sets out a number of internationally accepted ethical principles, aligned with the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.

During the event, Aisen Etcheverry presented the updated National AI Policy, highlighting its focus on governance and ethical aspects. She mentioned that the process of updating the Policy specifically incorporated the results of the UNESCO Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM), which were key to identifying governance gaps as well as the views of multiple stakeholders across the country.

Chile is the first country in the world to implement and finalize UNESCO's RAM, marking it as a pioneer in Latin America and beyond. This milestone has provided valuable insights to inform not only Chile's AI journey but also the efforts of other nations embarking on similar paths.

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's Director-General, congratulated Chile for having driven positive outcomes and shaped the trajectory of AI governance in the region. She stated that "Through its leadership, expertise, and unwavering commitment to ethical principles, Chile has emerged as a global leader in ethical AI governance, and we are proud that UNESCO has been an essential player to help achieve this benchmark."

Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO, from Paris, emphasized Chile´s positive engagement with the RAM and the importance of this report, which made it possible to bring concrete results to Chilean policies and legislation and further position the country to reap the benefits of AI while making sure that it delivers fair, sustainable, and inclusive outcomes.

The event was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto Van Klaveren, the Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, Carolina Arredondo, and the Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela. It was also attended by numerous academic authorities, technology experts and representatives of some of the more than 100 public services that are already implementing AI.