Artificial intelligence stopped being a promise and became an invisible infrastructure that runs through almost everything we do. From how we shop to how we work, from medicine to education, its impact is no longer future: it is present. In that context, the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA) has just taken a step that marks a before and after in the local scientific ecosystem: the release of the first PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Argentinawith a duration of five years.
It is not simply a new career. It’s a sign. An attempt to go from technology users to creators. From consumers to protagonists. Starting in 2026, ITBA will seek train researchers capable of developing new methodologies, algorithms and applications in a discipline that today defines the competitiveness of countries.
Dr. Pablo Fierens, director of this new educational offer, indicates that “the relevance and centrality of Artificial Intelligence cannot be denied.” And he adds a key idea to understand why this doctorate appears now: “there is hardly an area of knowledge or work of humanity that does not involve artificial intelligence in one way or another.”
The phrase is not an exaggeration. It is, in any case, a synthesis of the era.
In a market saturated with courses, diplomas and master’s degrees, the concept of a doctorate can cause confusion. What makes it different?
When asked by this media, Fierens was categorical: “The doctoral student does not study what exists today, creates what will exist tomorrow“That difference, which seems subtle, is actually structural. While the shorter programs aim at the adoption of tools, and the master’s degrees at understanding the state of the art, The doctorate is positioned on another level: that of the generation of knowledge. “It does not seek to delve into cutting-edge technology, but rather to create future AI technology,” says the academic.
In other words, it is not a program to learn how to use artificial intelligence: it is to design the next one.
Until now, those who wanted to research artificial intelligence in Argentina had to do so within broader programs, such as doctorates in computer science or engineering. This generated a paradox: work was being done on the frontier of knowledge, but without a specific focus on AI.
“There is a question of focus and objectives,” says Fierens. “The adaptation of a program to an appropriate focus is essential,” he says.
The new doctorate comes to solve just that: concentrate efforts on complex problems that require comprehensive solutions based on artificial intelligence.
And it does so on a basis that already exists. The ITBA does not start from scratch. Its history in applied research in areas such as energy, economics, life sciences and materials serves as a platform for this leap.
When talking about a doctorate, many times the idea is trapped in the abstract. But in this case, The applications are concrete and, above all, close.
Fierens mentions some examples that help bring the theory down to earth: “medical diagnosis assisted by artificial intelligence”, “therapeutic rehabilitation”, “automated trading”, “algorithms for drug development” or even “optimization of oil well production”.
The list is not exhaustive, but it makes one thing clear: AI is no longer an isolated field. It is a cross-cutting layer that redefines entire industries.
One of the most interesting points of the program is its interdisciplinary approach. Far from being limited to traditional technical profiles, the doctorate seeks to open the game.
“Yeah If we only received engineers, we would be promoting a biased research base”, warns the race director.
The logic is simple: if artificial intelligence impacts all areas, it also It needs to be thought about from multiple perspectives. Therefore, the program is open to graduates from areas such as life sciences, economics, environment or even more hybrid disciplines.
The requirement is not so much the original degree as the analytical capacity and mastery of mathematical and computational tools.
One of the great challenges of any technology training is obsolescence. What is trending today may be old tomorrow.
So does a PhD make sense in a field that evolves so quickly? Dr. Fierens proposes an answer that combines pragmatism and depth: “The doctoral student does not live in the present, but has one foot in the future.”
The program is also designed with a flexible structure: a core of mandatory subjects that are updated and a set of electives that allow adaptation to new trends.
“Many of the concepts used today have their origins in the 90s, and behind them there are mathematics that are more than 100 years old,” he explains. That is to say, in the midst of technological vertigo, there are bases that remain.
Are we overestimating AI?
The question appears in almost every conversation today. Is AI hype or revolution?
Pablo Fierens doubles down with his response: “The question swings between two possible extremes: overvaluation and undervaluation. Is it not possible for it to be adequately evaluated?”
The answer, like almost everything in technology, is more complex. There are cycles of enthusiasm, but also a clear trend: artificial intelligence is here to stay. “There is no turning back to its penetration into all environments,” he says.
Maybe it doesn’t always make noise. Maybe it will stop being news. But it will continue to be.
AI doesn’t just generate excitement. Also fear. Loss of employment, manipulation of information, automated decisions. Given the proposal, the director of the ITBA doctorate proposes changing the approach: “Perhaps it would be better to talk about transformation and not loss.”
History proves him right. Each technological revolution eliminated jobs, but also created others. The problem, as always, is the transition process.
Regarding manipulation, his view is less optimistic: “The problem is more complicated. Neither governments nor companies have a monopoly on the solution. The answer, again, seems to be in education.”
Among so many debates about AI, there is one that does not make headlines but can be decisive: the gap. “Just as there is a digital divide, we could also talk about an ‘AI divide’,” he warns. The problem is not only access to technology, but the ability to develop it. Today, the large companies that lead this field are not in Latin America.
If that doesn’t change, the destination is clear: continue adapting solutions created in other countries. The doctorate, in that sense, is a strategic bet. A way to start closing that gap.
When asked about the professions that are going to change the most, Fierens avoids future studies, but leaves some clues: customer service, administrative tasks, programming, education, medicine.
The constant is clear: artificial intelligence does not completely replace, but it redefines. And in this new scenario, the key will not be to compete against technology, but to learn to work with it.
Today, the most visible demand in Argentina is in the application of AI in companies. But Fierens invites us to look beyond the short term. “If we do not develop research, we will always be destined to adapt technology from others,” he warns.
The phrase summarizes one of the country’s central dilemmas: training talent for the market or for science. This graduate degree attempts, at some point, to do both.
But where does a doctor in artificial intelligence end up working? The answer is simple: everywhere. “In universities, companies and the public sector,” says Fierens. AI needs experts in each of these areas. From regulating its use to developing new solutions, to training the next generations.
