Advancing Public Interest AI in Brazil and Latin America

In this capstone workshop project, Fundação BRAVA, a Brazilian philanthropic foundation, sought advice from the SIPA student team on where and how to invest in responsible AI adoption in Brazil's public sector. Drawing on in-depth interviews with government officials, civil society leaders, researchers, and global philanthropic actors, along with one week of in-country fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the team’s final report presents a comprehensive landscape analysis, a governance evaluation framework complete with viable partner scoring, and five targeted investment recommendations across near-term and longer-term horizons.

The central finding is that Brazil's most pressing constraints in public-interest AI are institutional rather than purely technological: these constraints include fragmented governance, limited civil society access to regulatory processes, and low governance literacy among the public managers responsible for AI procurement. The recommendations are designed as a coordinated investment portfolio that builds toward AI governance in Brazil that is accountable, equitable, and durable. BRAVA is well-positioned to shape that future, not simply as a funder, but as a convener, capacity builder, and Brazil-specific anchor for global philanthropic coordination in this space.