Argentina President Javier Milei says he wants the country to become a destination for global technology companies by creating a special legal framework for artificial intelligence and keeping the sector largely free from regulation.
In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, Milei argued that Argentina should let AI develop with minimal state interference, saying premature rules could hold back innovation. He framed the policy as part of a broader effort to make Argentina more attractive for investment and to position it as a regional centre for AI development.
The president’s column was co-authored with Deregulation and State Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, underscoring that the initiative is tied closely to Milei’s wider deregulatory agenda.
Milei said current corporate law is not well suited to companies operated by autonomous AI systems, which he described as AI agents. According to his argument, these systems can carry out tasks without constant human supervision and therefore need a legal structure designed for their operation.
He proposed introducing a new type of legal entity, which he called a “non-human corporation.” In his view, such entities could be run entirely by AI agents or robots and would need rules that allow experimentation and development rather than heavy oversight.
The president compared the emergence of AI to earlier transformative moments in economic history. He pointed to the creation of the Dutch East India Company in 1602 as a turning point that helped establish limited liability companies and, in his telling, helped unlock the industrial and capitalist expansion that followed.
He also argued that AI could have a similarly sweeping effect by removing constraints on human cognitive labor in the same way industrialization reduced reliance on human muscle.
Milei used the column to invite technology firms to establish operations in Argentina, saying the country was open for business. He suggested that Buenos Aires could become for AI what Amsterdam was for maritime trade, a place where legal systems adapted to new technologies and global commerce shifted.
The government has already made artificial intelligence a key part of its strategy to attract foreign capital and broaden Argentina’s economic base. Officials have promoted the country as a possible hub for AI startups and data-centre investment, while emphasizing low levels of state intervention.
That approach fits Milei’s broader economic message, which has centered on deregulation, fiscal restraint and efforts to reduce barriers for private enterprise.
The administration’s stance has drawn criticism from some academics and civil society groups, who say Argentina still lacks a comprehensive legal framework for AI. They argue that important questions remain unresolved, including data protection, transparency and liability when automated systems make decisions or cause harm.
Those concerns have become central to global debates over AI governance, as governments weigh how to encourage innovation while setting guardrails around privacy, safety and accountability.
Milei’s proposal suggests his government wants Argentina to take the opposite path from jurisdictions that are moving toward stricter oversight. Whether lawmakers will advance the idea of “non-human corporations” into actual legislation remains unclear, but the president’s message to the tech sector was direct: Argentina wants investment, and it wants fewer restrictions on the technology behind it.