Chile earned the highest score in Latin America and the Caribbean in the fourth edition of the Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index (ILIA) 2026, with 71.4 points, followed by Brazil (68.4) and Uruguay (67.0). All three countries are part of the “pioneers” group, a category that brings together the ecosystems with the greatest maturity in the development of this technology.
Developed by the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the index assesses the capabilities of 20 countries in infrastructure, talent, research, technology adoption, and governance. In this edition, the index expanded its measurement to 126 sub-indicators and included a comparison with five countries outside the region: Germany, Spain, Estonia, Portugal, and Singapore.
Research and Development: Chile's Strengths
Among the country's key results, the report highlights its performance in research, with a score of 78.6, and in research, development, and adoption, with a score of 73.7. Chile also has the highest output of scientific publications on artificial intelligence in the region, at 41.9 per million inhabitants.
However, challenges remain in expanding these capabilities. The country accounts for 2.1% of the region’s graphics processing units (GPUs) and has an AI adoption rate among businesses of 13.5%. Added to this are research and development spending equivalent to 0.39% of GDP and the lack of a defined budget to implement its national artificial intelligence strategy.
The Challenge of Making Progress Through Regional Collaboration
At the Latin American level, ILIA 2026 identifies progress in training, research, and institutional capacity, but warns of the challenge of transforming these capabilities into innovation and productive value. Currently, 27.6% of large companies in the region use artificial intelligence, a figure that drops to 12.8% for medium-sized companies and 6.8% for small companies.
Given this scenario, Pablo Barceló, a principal researcher at CENIA, emphasized the importance of cooperation among countries: “That’s why we propose that this AI game be played as a team, because capabilities are distributed. But together, we can achieve much more.”
Among the findings highlighted by the index, 65% of the countries analyzed have at least one center specializing in artificial intelligence research, and 11 of the 20 have already incorporated content on this technology into their school curricula, compared to just two in 2024. However, the report also points to gaps in infrastructure and technology adoption, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises.
Learn more in the article from the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA).
