Buenos Aires City Mayor Jorge Macri highlighted the need to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence without losing control over data or slowing innovation. He made the remarks during the “Economic Scenarios of Transformative Artificial Intelligence” workshop, held last Thursday in Buenos Aires as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies and Johns Hopkins University Mayors AI Forum. The event was attended by representatives from the public, private and academic sectors, as well as Raúl Piola, the city’s secretary of Innovation and Digital Transformation.

Macri said Buenos Aires’ strategy is based on four pillars: governance and responsible use; research and development; cross-cutting implementation across public administration; and strengthening the technology ecosystem. Among the initiatives of his administration, he highlighted BAX, the application that integrates conversational and transactional functions; the AI District project; and the incorporation of these tools into education, healthcare and security.

The discussion focused on three challenges: the impact on employment, privacy protection and technological sovereignty. Macri said the government must train its teams and establish oversight mechanisms without preventing the development of solutions.

Buenos Aires is part of the founding group of the Mayors AI Forum along with nine other cities, including Bogotá, London, Madrid, San Francisco and Tokyo. The results of workshops held in different countries will be consolidated into a report with recommendations for public policies.