President Javier Milei wants Argentina to become a haven for artificial intelligence (AI). He has written a Financial Times op-ed titled "Javier Milei: Argentina invites AI to free itself - As we enter a new era of technology, AI must be permitted to develop without premature regulation" (open copy).
Milei has sent legislation to Congress for a special legal framework to support AI. He recalls how the Dutch East India Company in 1602 created limited liability, which led to massive growth in the world economy and improvements in living standards over the following centuries. In a similar way, AI can remove the limits of human mental work and drive productivity far beyond current levels, just as machines once did for physical labor. The combination of new technology and appropriate legal rules was essential to past advances and is just as important today.
A court decision in the United States has treated blockchain-based decentralised autonomous organisations as ordinary partnerships. This removed limited liability from their members, an approach the Argentine president regards as unsuitable for new technologies. The logic from 1602 still applies today because companies run by new technologies such as artificial intelligence require suitable legal structures to allow proper development and experimentation.
The proposed legal framework for artificial intelligence
Under the bill, AI would remain free from early and poorly designed regulations that might slow its progress. A new legal form, the non-human corporation, would be introduced for companies operated by AI systems or robots. These can act with independent judgment in complex and changing situations and therefore carry genuine risks. Limited liability is vital for them to function, although human shareholders may still take part on a voluntary basis.
The framework would also offer low corporate tax rates and let companies select governance laws from other countries. True owners would have to be identified to avoid use by illicit funds. Milei says Argentina has cut inflation sharply, secured a budget surplus, and eased many old restrictions on business in recent years after a long period of economic stagnation. These steps have put the economy back on a growth trajectory. The president extends an invitation to AI companies to base their activities in Argentina, with the aim of making the country a global center for this field in the manner that Amsterdam once was for maritime trade in earlier times.
