Europe started regulating AI — what it means for Latin America

The European Union just put into effect the world's first rules on artificial intelligence, known as the AI Act. It's the first time a group of countries officially says: "AI can't do whatever it wants, there are limits."

What does the new law prohibit?

• Using AI to socially score people (like China's social credit system)
• Mass facial recognition in public spaces (with some security exceptions)
• Covertly manipulating people's behavior
• Exploiting vulnerabilities of specific groups (children, elderly)

What does it require?

• Companies must be transparent when you use AI — you have the right to know if you're talking to a program and not a person
• "High-risk" AI systems (those used for credit decisions, hiring, or medical diagnoses) must pass strict evaluations
• All AI-generated content (images, videos, audio) must be clearly labeled

How does this affect Latin America? In two important ways:

First, the AI tools we use here — ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney — are from companies that operate in Europe. To comply with European law, they'll have to change how they work, and those changes reach all of us. For example, soon all AI-generated images must carry a mark indicating they're artificial.

Second, several countries in the region — Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico — are already working on their own AI laws, using European regulation as a reference. Colombia, for instance, has a bill in progress directly inspired by the European AI Act.