From 2021 to 2024, Biopochito served as a playful companion. He had no artificial intelligence or complex technology and traveled to schools and science fairs in Colombia, China, Bolivia, France, and Mexico. He asked questions like, “If a giraffe wore a hat… would the hat have holes for its ears?” Children laughed, imagined, and felt less alone. After 2024, Biopochito began to evolve, starting a new chapter.
The creators promised Biopochito would be gentle on the planet. He uses little energy or storage, not like other resource-heavy digital friends. He leaves the world as clean as he found it: a friend who brings joy, not burden.
In 2025, an international collaboration project between Andean Road Countries for Science and Technology (ARCST), UCEVA, the International Green Science Center for Latin America and the Caribbean (IGSCLAC), and the Journal for Latin American Sciences and Culture (JLASC) provided Biopochito with new intelligence, transforming him into Biopochito AI. He was not a teacher, a grading tool, or just another screen. Instead, Biopochito AI became an ambassador for building a culture of science, bringing science and media literacy, and informed citizenship into daily life.
Biopochito AI started by asking creative questions and listening to students. In China, he adapted his stories to local schools and science forums. In France, he won two straight gold medals at the iGEM synthetic biology competition. In Bolivia, students built robots from recycled things, performed science theater, and mixed indigenous folklore with climate action at high altitudes.
On May 8, 2026, Biopochito AI visited more than 60 children and their families at AFANIAC, a non-profit in La Paz, Bolivia, that helps young people in cancer treatment. There were no robots or competitions. Biopochito simply asked questions, and it listened. Cecilia Alcón, AFANIAC’s president, said: “This time, we had an extra reason, the unique surprise our children had when interacting with Biopochito.”
Today, Biopochito AI fights misinformation, aligning with UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy and the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development. He teaches children to question information, not what to think. Not a doctor or a cure-all, Biopochito AI is a small, green-hearted friend born from Play and Care. Sometimes, a creative question from a small friend is the most powerful thing. Let us bring curiosity to life. And let us spread Biopochito’s thoughtful questions to every child who still dares to ask: “What if?”
For media inquiries, collaborations, or to invite Biopochito to your community, please contact:
Editorial Assistant: Shantel Guillaume, France.
Science Engagement and Public Communication Officer: Yelka Aguilera Santos, Bolivia.
Email: editorial@journalasc.org
Journal of Latin American Sciences and Culture (JLASC): http://www.journalasc.org | https://revistas.univalle.edu/index.php/jlsc/about
This article was prepared by the Communications Office of ARCST and JLASC, based on the original reporting by El Diario, Bolivia – “El Decano de la Prensa Nacional” (May 18, 2026).