Teenagers’ and Young People’s Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America: Voices, Tensions, and Challenges for Situated Literacy

This article reflects on the technological imaginaries that Latin American adolescents and young people are constructing around artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing the sociocultural particularities of countries that are predominantly consumers of technology and face significant gaps in access, appropriation, and participation. Based on a narrative review of recent literature, it explores the perceptions, appropriation practices, and future projections that young people in the region have about AI, revealing a complex mix of enthusiasm for its educational potential and concern about its ethical, social, and labor implications. The analysis reveals some discursive tensions between local imaginaries and dominant market logics that affect the appropriation of technologies by many users, especially those linked to the education sector. Finally, the importance of creating institutional and methodological spaces that promote the systematic inclusion of young voices and the development of critical, inclusive, and culturally situated literacies is argued, allowing Latin American youth to appropriate AI from an ethical, conscious, and transformative perspective.