Secretary Velasco Calls on Latin America and the Caribbean to Draw on Their Diversity in Discussions on AI in the Service of Humanity

• More than 30 specialists from governments, international organizations, academia, and the private sector will discuss artificial intelligence and human development

Mexico is a nation that has learned that diversity is not an obstacle to progress, but one of its greatest strengths. In that spirit, Latin America and the Caribbean have a unique contribution to make to discussions on the use of artificial intelligence in the service of humanity, said Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco. He reaffirmed the Mexican government's commitment to a vision of technological development that puts people first.

The foreign secretary stressed that for artificial intelligence to serve humanity, it must draw on the region's diversity of experiences, cultures, and forms of knowledge, shaped by hundreds of peoples, languages, memories, and worldviews. He said a model trained solely on hegemonic perspectives would reproduce inequalities and biases.

Secretary Velasco opened the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Meeting of the AI and Human Development initiative today, convened by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed. He said that, from the perspective of Mexican humanism, recognizing ourselves in others is an act of empathy, and it is that empathy which finally answers the question of what makes us human in the age of artificial intelligence.

"Technological development only makes sense when it puts people first, expands rights, reduces inequalities, and strengthens human dignity. Because the future is not shaped by algorithms alone, but built on values," said Secretary Velasco.

Addressing the regulatory challenge posed by the use of artificial intelligence, the secretary said Mexico is ready to meet it with multilateral diplomacy. He called on the countries of the region to cooperate more closely to pool talent, share infrastructure, and produce homegrown knowledge, so that artificial intelligence reflects our own priorities and needs, since this is the only way to achieve technological sovereignty.

At the meeting, held at the Foreign Ministry's Historical Archive, Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed said Latin America and the Caribbean should bring their diverse capacities to this discussion to benefit their peoples, using technology that strengthens their values.

In her remarks, Secretary of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation Rosaura Ruiz Gutiérrez said the development of artificial intelligence must be accompanied by ethical principles and governance focused on the public interest. She pointed to the Chapultepec Principles, drafted by the Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (Secihti) together with the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency. The principles call for these technologies to serve people with human responsibility, transparency, accountability, and data protection, as well as respect for cultural and linguistic diversity.

She said that President Sheinbaum's government is driving initiatives such as the National High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence Cluster, as well as the development of Coatlicue, making it essential to determine how to approach these questions of technological development. Scientific diplomacy and international cooperation are indispensable to this effort: "Let's discuss, as a region, what we will do on these major issues that concern our societies today."

With this meeting, Mexico will help shape the conceptual frameworks that will define the post-2030 global agenda, based on human rights, cultural diversity, and inclusive development, in line with the Mexican humanism promoted by the government. The discussions from this meeting will also feed into the work of the UN's Independent Scientific Panel on AI, the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, the 2027 SDG Summit, and the implementation of the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact.