Women, AI and digital skills in Guatemala

Like many teachers today, Mayary Cutzal Xon has long been suspicious of artificial intelligence (AI) – both for herself and for her students. Can AI really help young people in an honest and meaningful way? Will it make them lazy? How can teachers make wise decisions using AI in lesson plans, and will that enhance – or hinder – a student’s understanding of the world?

Add to those doubts that southwest rural Guatemala, where she lives and works, is already at risk of gradually losing its ancient culture and ancestral heritage thanks to encroaching forces like digital and social media – for Mayary Cutzal Xon, there's this sense that "belonging to a non-dominant culture is a disadvantage," she said.

This tension came into focus recently when she decided to test AI in a math lesson. Instead of using apples or pears in equations, she used AI to design scenarios that included huipiles, which are hand-woven Mayan blouses where the thread, color and pattern tell the story of its origin. She also applied AI to create a lesson on buying and selling staple grains at a market where she lives, in the town of Chimaltenango.

In this way, she concluded, her students were learning "not only the mathematical process, but also to see numbers at work in the fabric of their own lives and in the local economy."

Violet Code

This awakening came about after Mayary participated earlier this year with 21 other women in a group called Código Violeta, or Violet Code, which is a DW Akademie project organized in collaboration with Comunicares , a nonprofit organization that focuses on strategic communication, critical education and strengthening civic works throughout Latin America. As the color violet symbolizes women and their interests, the intent here is for women to learn to not only lessen their fear of AI but perhaps more importantly, to learn to harness the power of both digital media and AI in education and political engagement for the good. Another cohort of women is expected later this year.

Critically, the aim too is that these women will pass on the skills they learn to other women in their communities, said Edgar Zamora Orpinel, a DW Akademie project manager for media development in Latin America. He noted, too, that Código Violeta will be at the Guatemala Book Fair on July 15 to present a card game that tests players' strategic and digital thinking. Comunicares developed the game to teach algorithmic literacy in a playful and accessible way, said Orpinel.

Learning multiplied

This expansive training fit in well with Velveth Sequén’s work as a radio producer who has her own  show, "Coffee With a Violet Aroma," on Radio Época in Chimaltenango. Zeroing in on topics like community leadership, misinformation and AI, she steadily encourages women listeners to participate in their local COCODEs, or councils, where they are typically absent.

"It's where important decisions are made, and without their representation or input," she said, noting, too, that she thinks people in general are eager for knowledge, but that it has to be conveyed "in clear, accessible language. Radio is the perfect medium for that. It's not outdated."

"In Chimaltenango," she continued, "where stable internet is not a given and many people lack digital skills, radio is still the most accessible way to reach the community."

On her show, she has warned her listeners about online scams, and in others on how to use ChatGPT.

But one episode in particular stands out for her, based on a training on how algorithms can alter images.

"[It] involves a listener whose community faced a serious situation," she recalled. "A child was being blackmailed with AI-altered photos. But because of what [a listener] had learned from the program, she was able to guide the family and use tools for verifying manipulated images. That case is currently making its way through the legal system."

On the street or phone screen

Another radio producer, and Código Violeta participant, Marina Shovín, took a project she developed through the training to her village Xolbé. With "Truth or Rumor: Navigating Safely on the Internet," she taught 15 women, aged 30 to 60, and many of whom only speak the local language Kaqchikel, to analyze potentially misleading information on their phones. She pulled real-life examples from their own WhatsApp messages, and found empty promises, fabricated posts and rumors masquerading as genuine news.

"What made these sessions with these women truly special was their engagement," said Marina. “They didn’t just listen, but they shared their own experiences, opinions and voiced questions."

They only needed, she observed, someone to initiate the discussion.

"These women who weave, who care for their families, who support their community, are remarkably capable," she added. "Sometimes they just need someone to remind them of their strength, to assure them that their knowledge matters and that no one should ever deceive them – whether on the street or through a phone screen."

The Código Violeta project is supported by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).