At Enade, an invitation was raised that Chile needs to pick up: investing in people, in knowledge, and in the future. If we want to recover growth and make a leap in productivity, there is an unavoidable question: Are we preparing the new generations to lead that development?
In Chile, the school system and the world of work have been divorced for too long. While companies incorporate artificial intelligence and transform their processes, our schools remain far from that conversation.
Young people themselves perceive this distance. A recent survey by the Observatorio de Juventudes de Fundación Tremendas, with more than 750 responses, reveals that 51% believe the educational system prepares them little or not at all for the future. Furthermore, 71% have considered supplementing their education through online courses, bootcamps, or self-directed learning—a clear sign that new generations are seeking paths that formal education does not offer.
The gap begins long before entering the labor market. According to ICILS 2023, 38.4% of Chilean eighth-grade students do not even reach the basic level of computer literacy and information management. Growing up surrounded by screens does not mean understanding technology.
Other countries are already taking action. According to the Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index, between 2024 and 2026, the number of countries in the region incorporating AI training into their curricula grew from two to eleven. Uruguay integrates computational thinking and AI into various subjects; Colombia develops these learning skills from the early school years; and Argentina is driving a national strategy for educational innovation with AI.
Chile has a concrete opportunity. In February, the National Education Council approved new Curriculum Bases for Technology and Innovation for first to sixth grade. The subject already
exists, has assigned pedagogical time, and allows for the establishment of progressive and shared learning. The challenge now is to implement what has been approved by preparing and supporting teachers to bring these capabilities into the classroom, taking advantage of the fact that virtually every school in the country has a computer lab and internet connection—the best K-12 digital infrastructure in Latin America!
Reinforcing reading and mathematics remains urgent, but it cannot be the limit of our educational ambition. If we aspire to a knowledge- and innovation-based economy, we must develop these capabilities long before young people reach the working world.
At Enade, Renzo Corona reminded us that technology alone does not distribute prosperity. That is precisely the choice ahead of us: to invest more, but also to dare to aspire to more. So that all children, regardless of where they were born, have the opportunity to understand, question, and create with the technology that is transforming their lives.
Mónica Retamal F.
Executive Director at Kodea