Chile - National AI Policy Update (12/2024)

Overview

The 2024 update to Chile's National Artificial Intelligence Policy, approved by Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (MinCiencia)">MinCiencia in Decree No. 12 (signed 11 April 2024 and published in the Diario Oficial, No. 44.060, 28 January 2025), reorients the country's AI strategy around ethics, inclusion and governance. It reaffirms a ten‑year horizon until 2031, and structures action across interdependent axes — governance & ethics; development & adoption; infrastructure & data; human capital; public sector adoption; and monitoring. The update is the product of multi‑stakeholder consultation (workshops, public online consultation, expert committee and regional fora) and explicitly references international guidance such as OECD and UNESCO assessments. The full published text (Diario Oficial scan) is available here: Decree No. 12 — Diario Oficial (scan).

Definitions

The policy adopts internationally‑recognised definitional guidance (notably OECD's updated AI system definition). It defines "AI system" as computational systems that, given objectives, infer from input data to produce outputs (predictions, recommendations, content or decisions) that may influence physical or virtual environments. The policy clarifies distinctions between development, deployment, provider and operator roles, and sets levels of autonomy and adaptivity as relevant risk factors. It also distinguishes between public sector procurement deployments and market‑facing products for normative and oversight purposes.

Governance and Institutional Framework

The updated policy strengthens MinCiencia's coordinating role and calls for a cross‑government governance architecture anchored in ministerial coordination and inter‑agency working groups. It mandates collaboration with sectoral authorities (health, finance, transportation, telecommunications), transparency bodies and the Comptroller (Contraloría General de la República) for oversight of public sector uses. It also directs creation of advisory expert committees and formal consultation mechanisms with academia, industry and civil society. For the public sector, the policy expects issuance of ministerial circulars to standardise procurement, ethical audits and minimum technical controls. See MinCiencia's announcement and related materials here: MinCiencia press archive.

Key Focus Areas

The policy's action lines are extensive: (1) Governance & ethics: ethical principles (human‑centredness, non‑discrimination, transparency, accountability) and governance mechanisms; (2) Development & adoption: incentives for R&D, start‑ups, and technology transfer; (3) Infrastructure & data: investments in HPC, data repositories for scientific uses, and data stewardship frameworks that balance openness and privacy; (4) Human capital & inclusion: education, reskilling and gender parity measures; (5) Public sector deployment: minimum requirements for procurement, testing, transparency and monitoring of AI used by State institutions; (6) Safety & cybersecurity: technical safety assessments and resilience measures; and (7) Monitoring & indicators: national dashboards and evaluative cycles to measure progress and inclusion. Each axis contains specific illustrative initiatives, pilot programmes and commitments to standards alignment.

Implementation Framework

Implementation is organised through an action plan (roadmap) with assigned responsibilities across MinCiencia, sectoral ministries and public agencies. The policy envisages instrument mixes: ministerial circulars, public procurement rules, targeted funding programmes, public‑private partnerships and academic collaborations. It defines sequencing for short‑term pilots (proofs of concept), medium‑term scaling and long‑term institutionalisation of monitoring systems. The policy also calls for the development of technical guidance (best practices for risk assessment, transparency, testing and documentation) that will be produced in coordination with sector regulators and standards bodies.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The update establishes a monitoring framework with indicators on R&D investment, adoption rates, inclusion (gender and geographic), skills and infrastructure capacity (HPC and data availability). It tasks MinCiencia with producing periodic public reports and maintaining an observatory for AI metrics. It also prescribes periodic evaluation cycles and invites independent expert reviews. The policy encourages open data where appropriate for reproducibility while safeguarding privacy and confidentiality through established legal safeguards.

Penalties, Liability, and Appeals

As a strategic policy instrument, the decree itself does not create new criminal penalties or detailed liability regimes. Instead, it signals that sectoral laws and forthcoming regulatory instruments (including proposed national AI legislation under parliamentary discussion) will establish enforceable obligations, liability rules and administrative sanctions where necessary. The policy expects agencies to adopt administrative compliance and oversight mechanisms, and to coordinate the design of redress channels and appeals in future secondary regulation.

Relationship to Other Instruments

The update supersedes and updates the 2021 national AI policy (Decreto Supremo N°20/2021) and is meant to operate in parallel with ongoing legislative initiatives (consolidated bills and parliamentary boletas regarding AI systems). It also references sectoral legal frameworks (healthcare regulation, data protection and procurement rules) and international soft law (OECD, UNESCO). Relevant legislative processes include parliamentary bills tracked at the Chamber of Deputies: Boletín 15869-19 / 16821-19.

International Alignment

Chile's update explicitly aligns with OECD and UNESCO guidance and cites international best practices. It aims to facilitate international cooperation, research exchange and standards harmonisation, to attract investment and to ensure interoperability with regional and multilateral policy frameworks. The policy invites participation in international fora and commits to incorporate relevant international standards into domestic guidance and procurement rules.

Implementation Timeline

Sources and References