Institutions that fail to adopt artificial intelligence at a sufficient pace risk falling behind current market demands, Matías Martino said [1].
This shift in operational capacity is critical because the technological divide between early adopters and laggards can determine a company's survival in a globalized economy. As competitors integrate automation and data analysis, those relying on legacy systems may find themselves unable to meet consumer expectations or maintain competitive pricing.
Martino, the Vice President of Data & AI at Santander Chile, discussed these risks during a TVN podcast [1]. He said that the pressure to evolve is not merely a local concern but a reflection of a broader global trend. The race for AI dominance is currently led by major powers including China, the U.S., and the European Union [1, 2].
According to regional analyses, the risk of stagnation is particularly acute for institutions in emerging markets that lack the infrastructure to scale AI quickly [2]. The gap is not only about the software itself, but the ability of an organization to respond to the rapid evolution of the international market.
To avoid this technological breach, Martino said that institutions must accelerate their adoption strategies. The goal is to ensure that organizations can survive and remain relevant against international competitors who are already leveraging these tools to optimize performance [1, 2].
Failure to act now could lead to a permanent disadvantage, as the speed of AI development often outpaces the ability of slow-moving bureaucracies to catch up. The integration of AI is no longer an optional upgrade but a requirement for market viability [1].
“Institutions that fail to adopt artificial intelligence at a sufficient pace risk falling behind current market demands.”
The warning from Santander Chile highlights a shift where AI is moving from a competitive advantage to a baseline requirement for business continuity. For institutions in Latin America, this creates a double pressure: they must innovate internally while simultaneously competing with the massive capital and infrastructure investments of the U.S. and China.
