A dozen Latin American countries are working together to launch Latam-GPT in September, marking the first large artificial intelligence language model specifically trained to understand the region's diverse cultures and linguistic nuances.

The open-source project is being led by Chile's state-run National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) alongside more than 30 regional institutions, with the aim of significantly increasing AI uptake and accessibility across Latin America.

Chilean science minister Aisen Etcheverry said the project "could be a democratising element for AI," envisioning its application in schools and hospitals with a model that reflects local culture and language.

Development of Latam-GPT began in January 2023, seeking to overcome inaccuracies and performance limitations of global AI models that are predominantly trained on English-language data.

Officials emphasised that the system is intended to serve as core technology for developing applications such as chatbots, rather than competing directly with consumer products like ChatGPT.

A key objective of the project is preserving Indigenous languages, with an initial translator already developed for Rapa Nui, Easter Island's native language. The project plans to extend this capability to other Indigenous languages for applications including virtual public service assistants and personalised education systems.

The AI model is based on Llama 3 technology and is being trained using a regional network of computers, including facilities at Chile's University of Tarapaca and cloud-based systems. Regional development bank CAF and Amazon Web Services have provided support for the initiative.

Whilst the project currently lacks a dedicated budget, CENIA head Alvaro Soto hopes that demonstrating the system's capabilities will attract additional funding.

The launch of Latam-GPT represents a significant step towards creating AI technology that better serves regional needs and cultural contexts, potentially setting a precedent for other regions seeking to develop culturally aware artificial intelligence systems.

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