the artificial intelligence It is no longer an unattainable promise nor an exclusive tool for technology laboratories. It is a phenomenon that silently but deeply permeates every corner of our daily lives: from how we learn and work, to how we make decisions and have relationships. In this context, AI literacy becomes a strategic issue for national survival and development.
Understanding, interacting and creating with AI is no longer the privilege reserved for experts or programmers. It is a new form of literacy that determines who will actively participate in the future and who will be excluded. Just as the progress of nations in the twentieth century depended on the ability of their citizens to read and write, in the twenty-first century it will depend on their ability to understand, use and manage artificial intelligence.
AI literacy is not just about knowing how to use a tool or issuing precise instructions. This involves developing critical thinking about their results, understanding how algorithms work, recognizing biases and risks, and, above all, maintaining intelligent human oversight to guide decisions. It is not about replacing people, but about enhancing them.
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Countries that understand this challenge will be better able to create innovation, lead industries, and ensure their digital sovereignty. Those who ignore this will face talent drain, loss of competitiveness, and technological dependence. The new global gap will not be between the educated and the illiterate, but between those who master artificial intelligence and those who barely use it without understanding it.
“It’s not about replacing people, it’s about empowering them.”
In Argentina, the challenge is urgent and comprehensive. We must integrate AI literacy into all educational levels, from primary school to vocational training, and also into business, government and social structures. It is not just about teaching programming or robotics, but about training citizens who are able to think ethically about the use of technology, understand its effects and harness its potential for the common good.
Technical knowledge is necessary, but it does help. Preparing for the age of artificial intelligence requires developing uniquely human skills: creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and a sense of ethics. Only an AI-literate community will be able to consciously decide how and why it wants to use it.
Integrating this new literacy requires shared responsibility. The state, companies, universities and social organizations must coordinate efforts to design public policies, regulatory frameworks and educational programs that ensure the adoption of AI in an ethical, inclusive and humane manner.
The future will not be determined by the power of algorithms, but by the level of awareness and preparation of users. Argentina has the opportunity – and the obligation – to prepare for this civilizational change. It is not just about adapting to a new technological paradigm, but about defining the kind of society we want to build in this new era.
It’s time to act. The future belongs to those who know how to read the language of artificial intelligence and write the next chapter of human development with it.
* President of the ArgenIA Foundation
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