Politicians and tech experts expressed concern over the implications of President Javier Milei’s proposal to allow “non-human corporations” run by artificial intelligence (AI) to operate in Argentina, with no regulations and low taxes.
On Thursday, renowned British outlet Financial Times published an opinion article written by Milei — with the help of Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger — under the headline “Argentina invites AI to free itself.”
In it, he stated that AI must remain free of state regulation to prosper.
The libertarian leader said his government was looking to attract AI companies by proposing a change in legislation that would establish “a dedicated legal framework for the deployment of AI.”
The three pillars of this framework are “a commitment to keep AI unregulated”, “the creation of a new corporate category in Argentine law: the non-human corporation”, and a “low corporate tax rate”.
“We are open for business,” he wrote, stressing that this is “an invitation.”
Critics say this could open the doors to “programmed impunity” and that it may even turn Argentina into a “catastrophic experiment.”
AI revolution The article compared the development of AI as a technology with the industrial revolution and the creation of limited liability companies, saying that an unregulated framework is required to unleash their full potential.
“As much as the industrial revolution freed us from the constraints of the human muscle, AI will free us from the constraints of the human brain, pushing productivity beyond our wildest dreams,” Milei said in the article.
Milei said he is committed to keep AI unregulated “so that it is free to be developed without the deadly hand of premature and poorly understood regulation.”
He also proposed the creation of “a new corporate category in Argentine law: the non-human corporation,” which would be operated by AI agents or robots. Human participation as shareholders would be possible, but not required.
“Where these systems exercise independent judgment in unpredictable environments, their actions entail real risks. Limited liability is not a luxury for such entities; it is a precondition for their existence,” the president said.
Those entities would benefit from a low corporate tax rate, and shareholders would be able to choose their form of corporate governance law, although final beneficiaries would have to be disclosed.
“Argentina has no interest in becoming a haven for illicit capital — but for all legitimate commercial activity our framework will offer unmatched terms,” he said.
Super RIGI According to Milei, the proposals are part of a broader investment incentive regime known as RIGI, which the government submitted to Congress last week to attract businesses through tax breaks and other benefits.
However, the initiative — dubbed “Super RIGI” — does not mention the concept of “non-human corporations” or establish a deregulated framework for AI companies.
The proposal is primarily aimed at attracting companies interested in building large-scale AI data centers in Argentina, offering lower taxes, preferential foreign-exchange conditions and exemptions from export duties.
The incentives, however, are not limited to the AI sector.
“In the spirit of the Dutch merchants who made Amsterdam the financial capital of the 17th century, we intend to offer the most attractive legal and fiscal environment for the AI companies that will define the 21st century,” Milei wrote.
Sam Altman and Peter Thiel In October, OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — and Argentine firm Sur Energy signed a letter of intent to develop a large-scale AI data center in Patagonia.
Patagonia, a sparsely populated region in southern Argentina known for its abundant natural resources and cool, dry climate, is widely seen as an attractive location for large data centers.
The project, known as Stargate Argentina, would be the first initiative of its kind in Latin America. The investment has been estimated at between US$20 billion and US$25 billion, although the project has yet to be formally launched.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the initiative would help bring Milei’s vision of “how AI could drive Argentina’s growth and creativity” to life.
Milei has also announced a “social digital twin” program, which would use publicly available citizen data to create simulations intended to inform public policy decisions.
The concept bears similarities to services offered by Palantir, the data analytics company co-founded by tech investor Peter Thiel.
Thiel met with Milei in April and has spent the past months living in Argentina. The government has denied that Palantir — or any other private company — is involved in the digital twin initiative, which has yet to be launched.
Palantir has faced criticism from civil liberties groups over its work with U.S. government agencies, including contracts related to immigration enforcement and surveillance programs.
Thiel has also been linked to Próspera, a controversial semi-autonomous development project in Honduras designed to attract investment through a separate regulatory and governance framework.
Criticisms Former lawmaker and Coalición Cívica leader Elisa “Lilita” Carrió said Milei’s article “confirms his full support for Peter Thiel, his philosophy, his beliefs and his economic power.”
According to Carrió, the proposal would turn Argentina into “a catastrophic experiment for human dignity” and move the country toward the “complete private totalitarianism” she believes Thiel advocates.
“Argentina has been chosen as the site of a social experiment with terrible consequences for human freedom,” Carrió said.
She argued that a lack of regulation for AI would mean “the dissolution of all moral and legal constraints, the end of the state, and the privatization of military and police power in the hands of private groups.”
Former Defense Minister Agustín Rossi said the Super RIGI initiative appeared to be “tailor-made for Javier Milei’s friends” and questioned why Economy Ministry officials had declined to clarify whether Palantir had lobbied in favor of the proposal.
Meanwhile, electronics engineer and AI specialist Ariel Garbarz argued in a post on X that the ideas of non-human corporations and the full deregulation of AI would create a system of “programmed impunity: human gains, social harm and responsibility shifted onto machines.”
“The ideological trick is to call the state’s decision to stop protecting its people ‘innovation,’” he warned.