Brazil unveils AI strategy focused on social inclusion, digital sovereignty
Sao Paulo, Feb 21 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Brazil’s government has unveiled its strategic vision for artificial intelligence (AI), noting that its development and application should be guided by social inclusion, digital sovereignty and sustainable development.
During a panel at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on Friday (local time), Brazilian officials detailed public policies designed to integrate AI into health care, education, public services and digital infrastructure, according to a statement from the Brazilian presidency.
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Luciana Santos noted that in 2024, the government launched the Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Plan 2024-2028, earmarking 23 billion reais (about 4.4 billion US dollars) in public investment over four years, reports Xinhua news agency.
“The goal is to promote the development, availability and use of artificial intelligence in Brazil, directing it to address national economic, environmental and cultural challenges,” she said.
Minister of Communications Frederico Siqueira said that the expansion of digital commerce and the inclusion of millions of people who remain offline require more telecommunications infrastructure and data centres.
Minister of Health Alexandre Padilha stated that Brazil seeks to position itself as a regional leader in the use of AI in healthcare, bringing together government, science and industry to build a secure and sovereign environment in digital health.
Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira reiterated the need for global AI governance, warning that “we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday hailed the AI Impact Summit being hosted by New Delhi. While spotlighting that an ancient Indian mathematician was the first inventor of the Binary number system, he asserted that the digital world has returned to its homeland.
The Brazilian leader who sat alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration ceremony of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam hailed the landmark event being held at a time when, according to him, societies find themselves at crossroads.
“For Brazil, it is a pleasure to participate in the Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit organised by the Indian government, the first time it has been held in the Global South,” President Lula posted on X.
“Here in Delhi, the digital world returns to its homeland. It was Indian mathematicians who bequeathed to us, more than 2,000 years ago, the binary system that would come to structure modern computing. We are making our way back to discuss one of the greatest dilemmas of our time. Our societies find themselves at a crossroads. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is advancing rapidly while multilateralism is dangerously retreating. It is in this context that the global governance of Artificial Intelligence assumes a strategic role,” the visiting leader added.
–
