This week, the country's far-right president, Javier Milei, established the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit. According to the legislation, this unit will employ machine-learning algorithms to analyse historical crime data and predict future offences.
Additionally, it will use facial recognition software to identify "wanted persons," monitor social media, and analyse real-time security camera footage for suspicious activities.
The Ministry of Security claims the new unit will help "detect potential threats, identify movements of criminal groups, or anticipate disturbances." However, this Minority Report-esque initiative has alarmed human rights organisations.
Experts are concerned that the technology could disproportionately target certain societal groups and have raised questions about who will have access to the information and how it will be used.
Amnesty International Argentina’s Mariela Belski has warned that the move could infringe on human rights.
"Large-scale surveillance affects freedom of expression because it encourages people to self-censor or refrain from sharing their ideas or criticisms if they suspect that everything they comment on, post, or publish is being monitored by security forces," he said.
The Argentine Centre for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information noted that such technologies have historically been used to "profile academics, journalists, politicians, and activists," posing a threat to privacy without proper oversight.
Milei, a far-right libertarian who rose to power late last year, has promised a tough stance on crime. His security minister, Patricia Bullrich, reportedly aims to replicate El Salvador's controversial prison model, and the administration is moving towards militarising security policy, according to the Center for Legal and Social Studies.
The government has also cracked down on protests, with riot police recently using tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators and officials threatening to sanction parents who bring children to marches.
The latest measure has sparked a particularly strong reaction in a country with a dark history of state repression. During Argentina's brutal 1976-83 dictatorship, an estimated 30,000 people were forcibly disappeared, some thrown alive from planes on so-called "death flights." Thousands were tortured, and hundreds of children were kidnapped.
A Ministry of Security source stated that the new unit will operate within the current legislative framework, including the Personal Information Protection Act. The unit will focus on applying AI, data analytics, and machine learning to identify criminal patterns and trends in the ministry's security databases.