On Tuesday, the Brazilian government presented a US$4.07 billion investment plan to boost the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies with a focus on sustainability and social orientation. This plan, dubbed "national sovereignty," seeks to reduce the country's dependence on imported AI tools by fostering an autonomous technological infrastructure.
The plan contemplates the allocation of resources to various strategic areas, including public health, agriculture, environment, business and education. Within these areas, the development of AI systems to improve customer service and optimize operational procedures stands out.
Of the US$4.07 billion, approximately US$2.479 billion will be allocated to business innovation projects over the next four years, while more than US$885 million will be invested in AI infrastructure and development. The remainder of the funds will be allocated to training initiatives, improving public services and supporting AI regulation.
During the presentation of the plan, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emphasized the importance of developing "sovereign artificial intelligence" to generate employment and income for the country. Lula emphasized that the development of these technologies will avoid dependence on countries such as China, the United States, South Korea or Japan.
The state-owned technology company, Serpro, has been working on the creation of a "Government Cloud", which will ensure that Brazilian government and public data is kept in a protected environment. Alexandre Amorim, executive director of Serpro, stressed that this infrastructure will guarantee national sovereignty by keeping data within the country's borders.
The plan also includes the creation of advanced language models in Portuguese, using national data that reflect Brazil's cultural and social diversity. This is crucial to avoid cultural bias in AI and strengthen the country's digital identity.
The Pbia (Plano Brasileiro de Inteligência Artificial) was developed by the National Council of Science and Technology, with the objective of fostering a robust digital infrastructure that includes the construction of an AI supercomputer. This project, which will require an investment of $360 million, will leverage existing infrastructure in the country, such as the Santos Dumont computer in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite challenges, such as the lack of adequate supercomputers to handle large language models, the plan is seen by the scientific community as a significant advance over previous policies. Final approval of the plan is expected to be discussed at an upcoming ministerial meeting.
