IDB Group Convenes Heads of State and Technology Leaders to Advance AI Agenda
- New IDB analysis estimates that broad AI adoption could raise GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean by 5.1% in a decade.
- With worker mobility, wages could increase by up to 5.3%, while without it, wages could fall by as much as 20.9%.
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) today convened heads of state and government officials from The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay, alongside senior executives from Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Nvidia, to advance a shared roadmap for broad and safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Latin America and the Caribbean and help unlock productivity across the region.
Held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, leaders called for the development of a regional mechanism that would embed a common strategy and joint investment guidelines.
They also addressed the foundations required for successful and responsible AI adoption, including institutions and regulation, talent and skills, digital infrastructure and data systems, dissemination of technology across governments, firms, and workers, and potential risks.
The urgency of the discussion was informed by the findings of the forthcoming IDB flagship report, “From Digitalization to Artificial Intelligence: Turning Promises into Productivity,” to be published in November. The report is the 2026 edition of the Development in the Americas (DIA) series.
According to the report, broad adoption of AI and large labor-productivity effects could raise regional GDP by 5.1% after a decade. With limited adoption and small productivity effects, GDP would rise by only 0.3%.
The study also examines how worker mobility can shape the distribution of AI’s benefits. Wages could increase by 2.3% to 5.3% over a decade if workers move into expanding job areas, but could fall by 13.5% to 20.9% if they cannot, underscoring the importance of policies that help workers adapt.
AI has the potential to transform the region’s economies, but any potential gains will depend on policy decisions made today and countries’ ability to scale adoption across the public and private sectors, the report argues. AI is already delivering measurable results, including reducing exclusion errors in social protection programs, improving public safety outcomes, and increasing worker productivity.
Participants included the heads of state of The Bahamas, Philip Davis; Chile, José Antonio Kast; the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Guyana, Irfaan Ali; Panama, José Raúl Mulino; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; Suriname, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons; and Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, as well as Colombian Vice President José Manuel Restrepo; Guatemalan Minister of Planning and Programming Carlos Mendoza Alvarado; Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Fernando Aramayo, and Brazilian Minister of Management and Innovation Esther Dweck.
The discussion, organized in partnership with Americas Society/Council of the Americas and Bicycle Capital, also included Ruth Porat, president and CIO of Alphabet and Google; Kevin Martin, VP and head of global policy of Meta; Mariano-Florentino “Tino” Cuéllar, chief global affairs officer of Anthropic; Lisa Monaco, president of Microsoft Global Affairs; Bruce Andrews, chief external affairs officer of Nvidia; Marcelo Claure, co-chair of Brightstar Capital Partners; Shu Nyatta, co-founder and managing partner of Bicycle Capital; Sebastian Kurz, co-founder and co-CEO of Dream; and Garth Sheldon-Coulson, founder and CEO of Panthalassa.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7417a9aa-5eeb-4d9f-9520-9463bfe7fa07
CONTACT: Media contact: Rafael Mathus rmathusruiz@iadb.org +1 (202) 623-1040
