In the U.S. and Europe, the rapid emergence of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence applications using large language models, or LLMs, has catalyzed a debate over the implications of these technologies for the future of work. These concerns are far lower down on the agenda in Latin America, where a potential economic crisis, security concerns, political unrest and corruption are obviously more urgent.
And yet, in a region of stark economic inequality, the rapid expansion of AI threatens to exacerbate that divide and the political tensions that come with it. In the next five to 10 years, the benefits accruing from AI will mostly go to a small group at the top of the region’s economic ladder, while the downsides will be felt mainly by the poor and middle class.
In Latin America, two sectors in particular are likely to be hit hard by these LLM-based programs: computer coders and call centers.