The UNESCO Regional Office in San José, in coordination with the Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT) and the Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer, held the fourth panel discussion in the “Building Peace” series, titled “Who Serves Whom? The Challenges of New Technologies.”
The event took place on June 11, 2026, at the ULACIT Auditorium and brought together four experts with complementary backgrounds. Allan Matarrita-Chinchilla, Director of Entrepreneurship at ULACIT’s Center for Innovation and Technology, contributed his expertise in digital transformation and strategic management. Professor Dennis P. Petri, Director of Research at the CIT and Professor of International Relations at ULACIT, examined the political and governance dimensions from an international academic perspective. Meanwhile, Ana Karen Cortés, co-founder of the Latin American Agency for Technologies and lecturer at the School of Law of the University of Costa Rica, addressed issues related to cyber law and digital rights. Karen Tovar Parra, Lead Artificial Intelligence Engineer at Datasite and researcher in quantum computing at the University of Costa Rica, provided a technical perspective on artificial intelligence systems, having shared her work at conferences in more than 15 countries.
The panel served as a space to reflect on the role of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in our society, framed by the central question: is technology serving humanity, or is humanity ultimately serving it? The discussion was moderated by Guillermo Anlló, Regional Specialist in UNESCO’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Program.
The session was structured into three thematic segments. The first invited participants to question what it means today to think of technology as truly serving humanity and whether the current trajectory of technological development is aligned with the common good. The second segment addressed the main tensions generated by emerging technologies, while exploring concrete opportunities for innovation to positively contribute to our societies. The third segment focused on the development of proposals.
Through this initiative, UNESCO reaffirms its commitment to fostering spaces for critical reflection on the major challenges of our time. At a moment when decisions about technological development are being made at an increasingly rapid pace, opening a plural, informed dialogue centered on human rights is not only timely, it is urgent.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-collaboration-ulacit-held-panel-discussion-titled-who-serves-whom-challenges-new-technologies?hub=701
