73,111 Dominicans are already learning AI: mass training is the first step, but training alone doesn't guarantee jobs

By N Digital · November 1, 2026.

The government program RD Inteligente has 73,111 people learning artificial intelligence (AI) in the Dominican Republic, according to figures released by N Digital. In the past week, 1,685 participants joined. The first milestone is to reach 100,000, and the stated national goal is to train one million Dominicans.

The initiative is driven by President Luis Abinader's government with the participation of the Instituto Tecnológico de las Américas (ITLA). According to the outlet, the largest group is aged 20 to 44: 43%, some 27,521 people. They are followed by young people aged 18 to 29, at 29% (18,811), and 14,753 private-sector employees.

Geographically, the highest concentration is in Santo Domingo (21,607) and the Distrito Nacional (18,348), followed by Santiago (4,623), San Cristóbal (4,397) and La Altagracia (2,301). Entrepreneurs, representatives of MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises) and healthcare professionals are also taking part. ITLA ranks among the five entities with the most participants, with 585 people.

Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza links the effort to the country's technology partnerships with companies such as Google and NVIDIA. ITLA rector Jimmy Rosario Bernard highlights access to training as a lever for local talent.

Our take: the initiative is good news, but it should be kept in perspective. With 73,111 enrolled, it has reached 7.3% of the one-million goal. The weekly gain of 1,685 people is modest against that ambition. The official figures measure participation, not outcomes: they do not say how many complete the courses, what level they reach or how many end up in a better or more productive job.

The original headline claims that AI training is "the key to securing employment." That is an overpromise. In general, AI literacy is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. What protects jobs is combining AI tools with domain judgment: the accountant, the nurse or the small-business owner who knows what to ask the machine and how to check its output.

There is also a short-term risk that no training program eliminates. As industry context, administrative and back-office tasks are often cited among those most exposed to automation, and the transition will be uneven. Those who already have connectivity, education and a formal job benefit from these courses first. The concentration in Santo Domingo and the Distrito Nacional suggests the challenge is reaching the provinces and informal workers, for whom the source provides no data.

Even so, the direction is right. A country that teaches tens of thousands of people to use AI narrows the gap between those who master it and those who suffer it. That democratization of knowledge is one piece of the underlying thesis: in the long run, AI can create abundance and free people to devote themselves to what they are passionate about. To get there, training must move from counting enrollments to measuring real skills and employability.

What to watch in the coming months is whether RD Inteligente publishes completion rates and employment outcomes, and whether the training is accompanied by access to infrastructure and support policies for the most exposed sectors.