If you’ve been watching the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in education, you might have wondered whether our children will be prepared for a world where AI fluency is becoming as essential as reading and math. Your concern is well-founded—and now there’s a concrete response. UNESCO and Chile’s National Centre for Artificial Intelligence have just partnered to bring the region’s first open AI language model directly into Latin American classrooms, designed specifically for our students, in our languages, reflecting our values.
Partnership Brings Ethical AI to Latin American Education
At the end of February 2026, the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago and Chile’s National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) signed a landmark cooperation agreement establishing a framework for collaboration to promote the use of AI in educational settings across Chile and Latin America. The agreement was signed by Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago, and Mónica Soto Pérez, Chief Operating Officer of CENIA.
The partnership aims to strengthen capacities and uphold ethical standards throughout the entire lifecycle of AI systems in education. This includes developing digital competencies, AI literacy, and people-centred AI development models grounded in ethical principles from the outset.
Latin America just got its first open AI language model designed for education. Here's why this matters for your child's future.
Latam-GPT: The Region’s First Open Education-Focused Language Model
Among the initial milestones of this partnership is Latam-GPT, the region’s first open large language model developed from and for Latin America and the Caribbean. Unlike AI systems trained primarily on English-dominated data, Latam-GPT is built with its own identity reflecting regional linguistic and cultural contexts.
Ministries of Education across Latin America can now deploy Latam-GPT for AI literacy programs and curriculum development. The model will serve as a key tool of UNESCO’s new Regional Observatory on AI in Education, coordinated through the Regional Education Steering Committee. This open-source approach ensures transparency and allows regional adaptation to diverse educational needs.
Quote: Artificial Intelligence represents a historic opportunity to transform our education and productive systems, but its development must be guided by clear ethical principles and a people-centred vision. This partnership with CENIA will enable us to support countries in building capacities and governance frameworks that ensure AI effectively contributes to the common good. | Attribution: Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director, UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Building Digital Skills for the Future Workforce
The cooperation includes developing specific projects in education and training for diverse audiences—from the general public to technical teams, teachers, and decision-makers. Training resources will be adaptable to different institutional contexts, fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue to strengthen national and regional innovation ecosystems.
“Artificial Intelligence represents a historic opportunity to transform our education and productive systems, but its development must be guided by clear ethical principles and a people-centred vision,” stated Esther Kuisch Laroche. “This partnership will enable us to support countries in building capacities and governance frameworks that ensure AI effectively contributes to the common good.”
Key takeaways
- Historic AI Partnership: UNESCO and Chile's CENIA signed an agreement to bring ethical AI education to Latin American classrooms.
- First Regional Language Model: Latam-GPT is the region's first open AI model designed for Latin American contexts, now available for Ministries of Education.
- Ethical AI Focus: The initiative prioritizes digital literacy, ethical principles, and people-centred development to prepare students for an AI-driven future.
What This Means for Families and Educators
For parents and teachers, this initiative signals a significant shift toward ensuring our children aren’t just consumers of AI technology but informed participants in its development. AI literacy is rapidly becoming a foundational skill, and regional adaptation means students will learn about AI in contexts that matter to them—using their own languages and examples.
As this partnership develops, educators can expect new training resources, curriculum guidance, and multi-stakeholder collaboration opportunities. The focus on ethical, inclusive, and rights-based AI aligns with UNESCO’s global mandate and provides a framework that other regions may follow. The key question now is how quickly these resources can reach classrooms across the diverse Latin American educational landscape.
Quote: We are convinced that technological progress must be accompanied by training, responsible frameworks and multi-sector collaboration. This agreement with UNESCO represents a strategic step towards strengthening capacity development and the ethical, people-centred adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean. | Attribution: Mónica Soto Pérez, Chief Operating Officer, CENIA
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
At Learning Success, we believe every child deserves to thrive in a world shaped by technology—not be overwhelmed by it. This partnership represents exactly the kind of forward-thinking approach we champion: building skills, expanding capabilities, and ensuring our children are creators, not just consumers, of the technologies shaping their futures.
The systems that serve our children must evolve to meet them where they are—and where they’re going. AI literacy isn’t a luxury anymore; it’s a necessity. The good news is that when we build these capacities early and ethically, we give our children powerful tools for their entire lives.
If you’re ready to help your child develop the digital competencies they need for tomorrow, the Learning Success All Access Program offers a free trial that includes a personalized Action Plan—and you keep that plan even if you decide it’s not the right fit.
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Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
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