The AI landscape in Brazil

OpenAI’s GPT-4 became the icon of a new era, one that is characterized by broader conversations with machines. Generative AI is hardly new, but a new generation of solutions made it widely accessible to individuals (and now corporations, with the recent launch of ChatGPT Enterprise). As such, AI is back on all kinds of discussion forums as it forces us to rethink businesses and our society.

After all, “AI is only a reflection of ourselves,” according to ChatGPT itself. The pace of change will only accelerate as the competition (notably Google) increases and new benefits/risks are revealed.

In Latin America, AI is expected to boost the region’s GDP by 5% by 2025, and most economies in the region have published public strategies to foster related innovation. Research indicates 50% of companies in Brazil rely on AI for at least one business application. And another 34% of local organizations are exploring new use cases based on AI’s capacity for real user interaction (“AI 2.0”).

Yet, successful AI implementation depends on hard work and must focus on at least two pillars: data governance (internal) and digital products (external).

See also: The battle for generative and conversational AI will be won on the API front.

By now, the global debate over the limits of AI makes it clear that at least some form of control is needed. It follows that data governance is a pre-requisite for ethical and responsible AI projects. Models that respect privacy, reduce bias, set what’s right/wrong… are mandatory to avoid disastrous consequences.

In Brazil, studies point out that only 20% of organizations are fully compatible with the national data protection program (“LGPD”)¹, which indicates an urgent and long road ahead as far as data management.

To transform AI into actual business, companies need to monetize their new AI-powered products. For that, they may move beyond simple APIs and focus on true digital products (which may consume multiple APIs). This will make it easier for developers and businesses alike to find, integrate, and use new solutions they need. Brazilian financial institutions that already expose APIs (Open Banking), may now display more complete sets of “digital products” (investment advisors, risk assessment, smart lending…)

See also: How API product intelligence helps you measure impact.

In sum, Brazilian organizations are struggling to go beyond the hype (Gartner now places AI on the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”)⁴ and accelerate business. While there is no magic bullet, it is wise to enhance existing data governance practices.

From a revenue perspective, it is time to expand API journeys into digital products as part of structured marketplaces. For the most part, such activities demand a combination of human (“abstraction”) and machine (“correlation”) capabilities.

The advent of general AI (“human-like thinking”) will test all of the above in the long run, but there’s no doubt that the leading organizations of the future are embracing AI now.

¹Daryus Institute National Research 2022-2023, Privacy and Protection of Personal Data – Brazilian landscape and trends (PRIVACIDADE E PROTEÇÃO DE DADOS PESSOAIS – cenário brasileiro e tendências)