Editor’s Letter: Technology

From the wheel and wagon to the jet, from the pen to the printing press to the computer, from internet startups to today’s world of artificial intelligence, technology evolves and society changes. Latin America faces challenges and opportunities in the emerging technological panorama.

The Fall 2025 issue of ReVista takes a deep dive into these areas, finding that technology—and particularly artificial intelligence—is key not only to blazoning a future, but in preserving the past. You will find articles like that of MIT Professor Eden Medina, who discusses how design and technology helps preserve the collective memory of Salvador Allende’s Chile. Or that of María Alessandra Woolson of the University of Vermont with her compelling article on artificial intelligence and the preservation of endangered languages.

Many authors take on the subject of bias, whether focusing on gender, race or ethnicity. It’s fascinating to learn that AI depicts an “expat” as a white-appearing relaxed male, while “immigrant” is a Latina-looking female, who seems nervous.

And there’s the question of how rapidly transforming technology fits into Latin America. Is the hemisphere on the cutting edge or will the AI boom drain its natural resources?

 To sum it up, I’d like to quote an author, Armando Guio Español,  the Executive Director of the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers and an affiliated researcher at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University:

“[O]ne thing is clear: Latin America and the Caribbean can lead—not just follow—in shaping the future of technology.

“We have the talent. We have the institutions. What we often lack is belief—belief that we are not too late, that our problems are worth solving, and that we deserve to help shape the rules of this new era of technological change….As the world debates how to govern the rise of advanced AI, we face a choice:
Will we shape our own future—or will it be shaped for us?”

We hope you enjoy this issue and that it gives you opportunities to examine the strengths and challenges of the evolving world of technology in Latin America.