In brief
The Ministry of Popular Power for Science and Technology published the Code of Ethics for the Responsible Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence (“Code”),1 drafted by the General Directorate for AI Development and Application.
This document consolidates national ethical guidelines to align with international standards and defines nine guiding principles that should inform the research, development, deployment, and use of AI systems in Venezuela. The Code is published at a particularly significant time, coinciding with legislative progress on the AI Bill,2 and establishes itself as a regulatory and guiding framework for all stakeholders in the country’s technology ecosystem.
Recommended actions
- Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the internal and external use of AI systems to ensure compliance with the Code.
- Review and update governance, management, and data protection models, as well as cybersecurity measures, and ensure transparency regarding how AI system algorithms function.
- Incorporate criteria of ethics and transparency to understand how the AI system makes decisions, and take measures to prevent discrimination in the design, development, procurement, and implementation of AI systems.
- Document automated decision-making processes and strengthen mechanisms for auditing, traceability, and human oversight.
- Prepare for interaction with emerging regulatory frameworks, including the AI Bill, with the aim of ensuring high standards of compliance consistent with international practices.
In more detail
Alignment with international frameworks
The Code aligns its nine principles with the main global standards on AI ethics and governance, incorporating by reference (i) the Recommendation on AI Ethics by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),3 (ii) the European Commission’s Ethical Guidelines for Trustworthy AI,4 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Council Recommendation on AI,5 among others. Together, these references reinforce the Code’s alignment with international standards on human rights, transparency, fairness, human oversight, and accountability.
Key ethical principles of the Code
The Code establishes nine ethical principles to govern the development and adoption of AI:
- Humanistic AI. The Code promotes human autonomy to prevent manipulation, coercion, restrictions on freedom of choice, or the imposition of ideologies or lifestyles, with the aim of preventing harm and protecting human rights and physical and mental integrity. The Code requires AI actors to strengthen the rule of law, respect human rights, democracy, and people’s quality of life.
- Equity, Equality, and Non-Discrimination. This principle mandates the avoidance of bias and homogenization, incorporates a gender perspective, and protects vulnerable groups. The Code establishes that AI systems must not use data to segment, categorize, or confine people within biased profiles (profiling) or trap them in information bubbles or echo chambers.
- Environmental Responsibility. This principles highlights the energy and material impacts of AI system infrastructure and urges the efficient use of resources, sustainable hardware, and less computationally intensive models.
- Security. The Code urges the establishment of technical and organizational safeguards to protect and ensure the integrity, confidentiality, availability, and privacy of processed data, models, and associated infrastructure. This includes attack prevention, cybersecurity, and operational resilience.
- Privacy. The Code calls for establishing strict obligations regarding consent in AI systems, minimizing data collection, and protecting data and sensitive information, with special attention to biometric and medical data.
- Transparency. The Code establishes that transparency is an essential principle throughout the entire lifecycle of AI systems, requiring that their algorithms, processes, and decisions be understandable and auditable to enable the detection of biases and ensure public trust. It also stipulates that explainability, traceability, and social participation are indispensable elements to ensure that AI operates fairly, responsibly, and in alignment with democratic values and the common good.
- Accountability. The Code establishes that, despite the operational autonomy of AI systems, ultimate responsibility for their decisions always rests with humans. This principle requires clear oversight and accountability mechanisms, as well as accessible information on how algorithms function, ensuring transparency, error correction, and the ethical and responsible use of technology under effective human control.
- Open Science. The Code establishes that open science is essential for the responsible development of AI systems, promoting free access, reuse, and global collaboration. It also highlights the value of open source code and free software to ensure transparency, collective innovation, and the reduction of technological gaps, facilitating the creation of more robust AI systems oriented toward the common good.
- Excellence. This principle calls for AI strategies that foster innovation, strengthen human talent, and promote high-level research, ensuring that technological advancements are ethical, sustainable, and oriented toward national and global progress.
Final remarks
The Code sets a regulatory benchmark for organizations that develop, implement, or use AI systems in Venezuela. Beyond its regulatory scope, the Code represents a strategic opportunity to strengthen technology governance models, anticipate future regulatory obligations, and consolidate corporate practices that build trust, mitigate risks, and enable responsible innovation.
Companies that adopt these standards early on will be better positioned to compete in an increasingly regulated and demanding global environment, capture high-value technological opportunities, and demonstrate a strong commitment to ethics, transparency, and sustainability in the use of AI.
1 Ministry of Popular Power for Science and Technology, Code of Ethics for the Responsible Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence, published on 19 February 2026. Venezuela Presents the Code of Ethics for the Responsible Development and Application of AI - MINCYT accessed on 13 March 2026 (Available only in Spanish).
2 National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, “National Assembly Approves Artificial Intelligence Bill in First Reading” (News, 19 November 2024) National Assembly accessed 13 March 2026 (Available only in Spanish).
3 UNESCO, Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2021) Ethics of Artificial Intelligence - AI | UNESCO accessed 13 March 2026.
4 European Commission, Ethical Guidelines for Trustworthy AI (2019) Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI | Shaping Europe’s digital future accessed 13 March 2026.
5 OCDE, Recommendation of the Council on Artificial Intelligence. OECD/LEGAL/0449 (2019) OECD Legal Instruments accessed 13 March 2026.