Artificial Intelligence for All? Brazilian Teachers on Ethics, Equity, and the Everyday Challenges of AI in Education

This study examines the perceptions of Brazilian K-12 education teachers regarding the use of AI in education, specifically General Purpose AI. This investigation employs a quantitative analysis approach, extracting information from a questionnaire completed by 346 educators from various regions of Brazil regarding their AI literacy and use. Educators vary in their educational level, years of experience, and type of educational institution. The analysis of the questionnaires shows that although most educators had only basic or limited knowledge of AI (80.3\%), they showed a strong interest in its application, particularly for the creation of interactive content (80.6%), lesson planning (80.2%), and personalized assessment (68.6%). The potential of AI to promote inclusion and personalized learning is also widely recognized (65.5%). The participants emphasized the importance of discussing ethics and digital citizenship, reflecting on technological dependence, biases, transparency, and responsible use of AI, aligning with critical education and the development of conscious students. Despite enthusiasm for the pedagogical potential of AI, significant structural challenges were identified, including a lack of training (43.4%), technical support (41.9%), and limitations of infrastructure, such as low access to computers, reliable Internet connections, and multimedia resources in schools. The study shows that Brazil is still in a bottom-up model for AI integration, missing official curricula to guide its implementation and structured training for teachers and students. Furthermore, effective implementation of AI depends on integrated public policies, adequate teacher training, and equitable access to technology, promoting ethical, inclusive, and contextually grounded adoption of AI in Brazilian K-12 education.

Democratising Artificial Intelligence for Pandemic Preparedness and Global Governance in Latin American and Caribbean Countries

Infectious diseases, transmitted directly or indirectly, are among the leading causes of epidemics and pandemics. Consequently, several open challenges exist in predicting epidemic outbreaks, detecting variants, tracing contacts, discovering new drugs, and fighting misinformation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can provide tools to deal with these scenarios, demonstrating promising results in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. AI is becoming increasingly integrated into various aspects of society. However, ensuring that AI benefits are distributed equitably and that they are used responsibly is crucial. Multiple countries are creating regulations to address these concerns, but the borderless nature of AI requires global cooperation to define regulatory and guideline consensus. Considering this, The Global South AI for Pandemic & Epidemic Preparedness & Response Network (AI4PEP) has developed an initiative comprising 16 projects across 16 countries in the Global South, seeking to strengthen equitable and responsive public health systems that leverage Southern-led responsible AI solutions to improve prevention, preparedness, and response to emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks. This opinion introduces our branches in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries and discusses AI governance in LAC in the light of biotechnology. Our network in LAC has high potential to help fight infectious diseases, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, generating opportunities for the widespread use of AI techniques to improve the health and well-being of their communities.