In a new episode of Fin Talks, Julián Colombo spoke with Mariano Amartino, a leading figure in the Latin American tech ecosystem and entrepreneur, about artificial intelligence, startups, communication, education, and the changes already reshaping how we work, make decisions, and build knowledge.
The interview, held as part of Fintech Américas with N5 Now’s support, traced Amartino’s path through companies like Microsoft and Telefónica, his experience creating investment programs for startups, and his perspective on the real impact of artificial intelligence on business.
Watch the full interview:
A Path Shaped by Technology, Investment, and Startups
During the conversation, Amartino reflected on his professional journey—a path that places Latin America at the center of technological transformation.
Microsoft for Startups and the Regional Ecosystem
At Microsoft, he led and developed the Microsoft for Startups program, an initiative through which the company invested in and mentored tech startups, first in Latin America and later expanding across the Americas, including the United States and Canada.
This program provided firsthand insight into how technology businesses are born and grow in the region, what differentiates them globally, and why Latin American talent remains a strategic asset.
Wayra: The First Corporate Accelerators
Before Microsoft, he participated in creating Wayra, Telefónica’s investment arm, one of the first corporate accelerators globally. From there, he contributed to opening spaces in different countries across the region and supporting hundreds of startups at a time when the Latin American entrepreneurial ecosystem was still being built.
Lessons from the Ecosystem
This experience gave him a close look at how technology markets form, how innovation ecosystems consolidate, and why Latin America maintains a distinctive advantage: talent, adaptability, and a unique ability to create solutions in complex contexts.
Artificial Intelligence: Stop Thinking of It as Human
One of the interview’s central themes was artificial intelligence. Amartino offered a clear critique of one of today’s most common tendencies: anthropomorphizing technology.
Why Anthropomorphizing AI Leads to Errors
Many people and organizations interpret artificial intelligence as if it thinks, understands, or reasons like humans do. This interpretation, aside from being inaccurate, can lead to serious mistakes in how companies use it.
Thinking that AI “thinks” like we do creates wrong expectations, disproportionate fears, and poor business decisions. It requires an important conceptual shift.
How Language Models Actually Work
For Amartino, a language model doesn’t function like a human brain. It’s a probabilistic prediction system that operates with:
- Tokens (units of text)
- Context (available information)
- Patterns (learned associations)
When AI produces an incorrect response, it doesn’t “hallucinate” in a human sense: it simply predicts a likely output based on available information.
Why This Distinction Matters
This distinction is critical for companies, banks, fintechs, and organizations implementing artificial intelligence in their processes. Understanding what the technology can do, what it can’t do, and under what conditions it creates value is the first step to using it wisely.
Without this understanding, AI implementation typically fails or underdelivers.
AI as Copilot, Not as Autopilot
The conversation also addressed an inevitable question: What professions or activities might be immune to artificial intelligence’s advance?
Why Nothing Is Completely Immune
Amartino was direct: probably nothing is completely immune. But that doesn’t mean everything will be replaced.
Artificial intelligence can:
- Assist tasks
- Speed up processes
- Complement skills
- Improve outcomes
But it doesn’t necessarily replace human judgment entirely.
The Copilot Metaphor
In this sense, he highlighted the idea of AI as a copilot. It’s not about delegating all decisions to a machine, but using it as a tool that helps you think, operate, and decide better.
A copilot doesn’t replace the pilot—it assists, alerts you to risks, optimizes the route, and maintains altitude. But the pilot remains responsible for navigation, critical decisions, and the final destination.
AI in Fintech: Between Efficiency and Control
This perspective is especially relevant to financial services, where AI adoption can’t depend on efficiency alone. It also requires:
- Security
- Control
- Traceability
- Business understanding
- Assessment of impact on customers and processes
That’s why in banking and fintech, AI as copilot is more than a metaphor—it’s an operational necessity.
The Future of Work Demands Critical Thinking and Communication
Another pivotal moment came when Colombo asked Amartino: What makes sense to study thinking about the next fifteen years?
What’s Worth Studying Over the Next 15 Years
The answer didn’t focus on a specific career, but on foundational capabilities:
- Learning how to think
- Developing logic
- Strengthening communication
- Cultivating critical thinking
In a world increasingly shaped by intelligent systems, knowing how to ask, interpret, question, and define with clarity becomes as important as mastering a specific tool.
The Real Cost of Software
Amartino brought the discussion to a reality many companies are already experiencing: “If a person can’t explain what they’re looking for, formulate a problem well, or understand the results they need, they’ll struggle to leverage advanced technology.”
This connects to an increasingly common insight in organizations: the most expensive part of software is often not the coding, but deciding correctly what to build.
That decision requires:
- Judgment
- Clear language
- Context understanding
- The ability to turn needs into concrete solutions
Ancient Knowledge in Times of Rapid Technology
Colombo introduced the Lindy effect into the discussion: the idea that certain knowledge, the longer it has endured, the more likely it is to remain relevant.
The Lindy Effect and Temporal Relevance
From this perspective, disciplines like:
- Logic
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Communication
…emerge as stronger foundations than many passing trends.
Why Fundamental Knowledge Matters Most
Technology changes, platforms get replaced, and tools become obsolete. But the capabilities that let us understand the world, structure problems, and communicate ideas retain their value.
A professional who masters logic and communication can learn any new tool. But someone who only knows one specific tool will become obsolete when that tool disappears.
AI and Fundamental Understanding
Amartino agreed with this view and extended the discussion to artificial intelligence, models attempting to understand physical laws, and the importance of not confusing prediction with understanding.
The discussion revealed a deeper insight: the future won’t depend just on knowing how to use technology, but on understanding the principles that let you guide it.
Communication as a Tool for Evolution
As the interview drew to a close, the conversation turned to reading, writing, and communication as ways to accumulate knowledge.
Reading as Near-Telepathic Transmission
Colombo described reading as an almost telepathic form of transmission: an idea born in one mind can travel through time and reach another person decades or centuries later.
Communication in Human Evolution
Amartino picked up on this to highlight that communication is one of the tools that enabled human evolution:
- Without communication, there’s no knowledge accumulation
- Without language, there’s no coordination
- Without coordination, there’s no strategy
- Without strategy, there’s no collective learning
Even in a world dominated by artificial intelligence, this capacity remains central.
The Human Dimension AI Cannot Replace
Technology can:
- Accelerate processes
- Organize information
- Assist decisions
But ideas need to be formulated, transmitted, discussed, and understood. That human dimension remains decisive for any real transformation.
A Conversation About Technology, and About Judgment
Fin Talks opened another space to think about innovation from a broad perspective, where artificial intelligence appears not as a fad or inevitable threat, but as a powerful tool that demands understanding.
Beyond Technology
The conversation between Julián Colombo and Mariano Amartino left one idea clear: the future of work won’t be defined by technology alone, but by people’s and organizations’ ability to:
- Think better
- Communicate clearly
- Make decisions with judgment
Real Competitive Advantage
In times of artificial intelligence, automation, and constant change, the advantage won’t lie just in adopting new tools. It will lie in understanding them, questioning them, and using them to build better ways of working, learning, and creating value.
That’s the real transformation: not replacing humans with machines, but empowering people with better tools, stronger judgment, and clearer communication.
