Latinos Are Powering AI’s Next Breakthroughs

Opinion for The Latino Newsletter

ATLANTA — The artificial intelligence revolution is already here, and Latinos are leading it. While corporate commitments to DEI quietly fade and policymakers roll back diversity initiatives, AI’s Latino leaders haven’t waited for permission. We’ve never needed corporate handouts to build, and we’ve never asked for a seat at the table. We just built our own.

From engineering breakthroughs to financial services transformation, we’re redefining AI’s impact on global markets. The conversation about Latinos in tech has been stuck in a cycle of diversity and inclusion.

This needs to stop.

It’s time to shift that narrative to ownership, influence, and industry-shaping power. AI’s future depends on who wields it, and Latinos are doing so with precision.

Latino leadership in AI is already undeniable. Marco Mascorro is transforming warehouse logistics with AI-driven robotics at Fellow AI. Daniela Braga is building the data backbone for AI language models at Defined.ai. Rafael Cosman, Founder and CEO of Protogon Research, is pushing the boundaries of AI toward superintelligence with models designed for a deep, true understanding of the world.

These aren’t just “diversity” stories. They are market-shifting forces redefining industries.

Never Outsiders

Despite these successes, the tech mainstream still frames Latinos as outsiders. That outdated perception ignores the reality that we are driving AI’s evolution. You might think AI is being shaped only in research labs, but that is not true. Problem-solvers with real-world experience are the ones making it happen. Latinos bring precisely that, applying AI to tangible, high-impact challenges across sectors.

What makes Latinos uniquely suited to lead in AI, particularly in applied AI, is a mindset forged by resilience, adaptability, and the ability to improvise when mainstream responses fail. Multilingual expertise allows us to bridge gaps between industries and markets, making AI more adaptable, scalable, and human-centered. Many of us have navigated historical high inflation and interest rates, developing an innate ability to live with less, optimize resources, and persevere in scarce environments. We have grown up connected to regions marked by political instability, honing an ability to operate in uncertainty, take action even when the future is unclear, and build solutions without predefined roadmaps.

Latinos are driving AI’s most relevant and beneficial applications. The ability to adapt, build from uncertainty, and solve problems outside traditional frameworks makes us central to AI’s future.

No More Bias

As it stands today, though, AI is deeply flawed. Bias infects its models. Accessibility is an afterthought. Trust is collapsing. And the people building it have never lived the experiences that AI is supposed to serve.

That’s why Latinos are shaping and fixing AI before it fails us all.

Investors who overlook Latino-led AI companies are missing out on some of the most innovative, high-growth businesses of the decade. Tech leaders who fail to elevate Latino AI talent at leadership levels are setting themselves up for failure. Policymakers who exclude Latino AI innovators from regulatory discussions are making a critical mistake in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.

Latinos contribute $3.6 trillion to the U.S. economy. If that were a country, it’d be the fifth largest in the world. Why wouldn’t we be at the center of AI’s future?

AI is moving fast, and so are Latinos. Our time is already here.

Investors, policymakers, and tech leaders have a choice: build with us or be left behind. Latinos in AI aren’t just the future.

We are the present.

And the present doesn’t wait.

About the Author

With 25+ years of experience in Financial Services and FinTech, Rodrigo Dantas e Silva is Co-founder & CEO of Gabriel Money, dedicated to empowering hard-working Americans to build wealth.

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