AI joins the book fair agenda: the debate reaches Cali, but still without data to analyze

By Noticiero 90 Minutos (UAO) · October 30, 2026.

According to a post published on Facebook by students from the UAO-90 Minutos workshop, the use of artificial intelligence was one of the topics debated at the Cali International Book Festival. The available material is limited to that statement: it includes no speakers, figures, specific positions or conclusions, and we cannot attribute any specific stance to the festival.

Our reading, therefore, is about the signal rather than the content. That AI appears as a topic at a book fair indicates it is no longer a purely technological matter and has moved into the territory of authorship, reading and education. That it is students covering the debate is also telling: the conversation is already part of the training of future journalists.

In general, cultural debates about AI revolve around authorship, writers' rights and the role of generative tools in creation and education. In the short term, these are real and legitimate tensions, especially for those who make a living writing or translating. In the long term, the same technology can broaden access to reading, translation and personalized education, and leave more room for the human creativity that truly matters.

Until there is more detail about what was said in Cali, the honest thing is to leave it there: a sign that the debate has become normalized, pending the specific arguments.