On August 20, CEBRI held the inaugural session of its Seminars on Artificial Intelligence, bringing together Stanford University experts and Brazilian leaders to discuss Brazil’s strategic choices in response to the rapid advancement of AI.

The opening session featured Julia Dias Leite, CEO of CEBRI; Marcos Pereira, Senior Public Policy Advisor at AWS; and Fr. Anderson Antonio Pedroso, Rector of PUC-Rio. The main discussion brought together Rob Reich, McGregor-Girand Professor of Social Ethics of Science and Technology, and Nate Persily, James B. McClatchy Professor of Law, both at Stanford University, with moderation by Thay Graciano, a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and PhD candidate in AI Governance at the same institution.

The discussion was structured around four key areas: regulation; competitiveness and economic development; democracy; and human agency in the age of AI. Among the main topics addressed were Brazil’s regulatory priorities, the investments needed to strengthen the country’s AI ecosystem, digital infrastructure, the impacts of AI on democratic processes, and challenges related to education, workforce development, and security.

The Seminar launched a series of four sessions aimed at exploring the different dimensions of the strategic choices AI presents for Brazil, including development and technological sovereignty, governance and regulation, and ethical and social impacts.

The initiative is part of CEBRI’s Technology and Digital Transformation Program and is supported by PUC-Rio, in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS).