Brazil’s Artificial Intelligence Plan (PBIA) of 2024: Enabler of AI sovereignty?

This study assesses the extent to which the Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Plan (PBIA, Plano Brasileiro de Inteligência Artificial) of 2024 supports the country’s pursuit of AI sovereignty. The authors map the financial allocations to the PBIA’s 54 proposed structural actions against the components of Belli’s (2023a; 2023b) key AI sovereignty enablers (KASE) framework: data, algorithms, computing capacity, connectivity, electricity, education, cybersecurity, and regulation. The study finds that the PBIA’s structural actions support six of the KASE enablers, in the following order of priority: algorithms, data, computing capacity, education, electricity, and cybersecurity. Close to 50% of the PBIA’s proposed investments for structural actions are found to be for actions related to the algorithms enabler in the KASE framework, followed by 20% for actions connected to the data enabler, 20% for actions supporting the computing capacity enabler, and 11% for actions related to the education enabler. Much lower levels of expenditure are set out in the PBIA for the electricity enabler (2%) and the cybersecurity enabler (1%). The authors analyse the implications of the PBIA’s prioritisations for Brazil’s progress towards AI development and AI sovereignty.