Colombia’s general elections, scheduled to take place on March 8, will have an unusual presence in the race for the first time: that of Gaitana IA, a candidate generated by artificial intelligence who is expected to run for a seat in Congress.
The initiative is part of a political experiment that combines technology, digital participation and indigenous representation. The platform was developed by mechatronic engineer Carlos Redondo, a member of the Zenú indigenous community.
Although Gaitana AI is an artificial intelligence, its electoral registration follows Colombian legal requirements and is done in the name of mechatronic engineer Carlos Redondo. According to the country’s electoral rules, it is Redondo who can be elected and formally occupy the seat in Congress, assuming the commitment to act in accordance with the decisions generated by the digital platform.
In this model, Gaitana IA would not actually act as a parliamentarian, but as the system that would guide the decisions of the elected representative, in the Redondo case. If he wins the election, the human candidate would take the seat in Congress and commit to voting according to the results generated by the digital platform.
Gaitana’s candidacy is part of the so-called Special Indigenous Circumscription, a mechanism in the Colombian electoral system that reserves seats in Congress exclusively for representatives of indigenous peoples.
According to the project’s creators, the platform uses artificial intelligence to summarize bills, organize proposals and collect users’ opinions. Gaitana’s decisions would be consolidated through virtual consultations and votes, which would serve as the basis for the parliamentarian’s position.
The candidacy linked to the project was initially rejected by the National Electoral Council (CNE), on the grounds of unconstitutionality. Subsequently, the body approved a hybrid format, allowing a human candidate to compete associated with the artificial intelligence platform.
On social media, Gaitana IA is represented as a digital character with blue skin and stylized indigenous aesthetics, using a synthetic voice generated by artificial intelligence.
