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Human Development Report 2025: A Matter of Choice. People and Possibilities in the Age of AI
Deep Insights

Pedro Conceição et al.

New York: UNDP (2025), xi, 307 pp.

"This year’s Human Development Report examines what distinguishes this new era of AI from previous digital transformations and what those differences could mean for human development (chapter 1), including how AI can enhance or subvert human agency (chapter 2). People are already interacting with ... more

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Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Persons with Disabilites in Africa
Deep Insights

Jerry John Kponyo, Bernard Chiira, Christopher Harrison, Hanyurwimfura Damien (eds.)

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust (AT4D); Next Step Foundation; Tangaza University College; Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI) (2025), ix, 169 pp.

"Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve the daily lives of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Africa in practical, cumulative ways—transcribing, translating, summarizing, personalizing, and predicting to reduce routine frictions in school, work, health, mobility, and access to publi ... c services. The study surveys this emerging landscape across Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and comparator contexts, mapping how AI augments assistive technologies (AT) and mainstream services while clarifying the policy, data, and delivery conditions that determine real-world impact. Across sectors, we find promising AI use cases beyond traditional AT. In education, adaptive tutors, captioning, and sign-language tools can widen access, though localized content and language coverage remain thin. In employment, AI can support job matching, accessible applications, task breakdown, and on-the-job accommodations, especially when paired with employer guidance and incentives. In mental health, chatbots can extend scarce services and offer stigma-free entry points to care; caregiver tools use voice, translation, and simple workflows to ease coordination and stress. Mobility and independent living benefit from computer vision, speech interfaces, and early robotics, with African innovators piloting sign-language avatars, personalized speech recognition, and lower-cost bionics. The potential of these advances is real but uneven—most remain pilots, and scale requires fit-for-purpose data, infrastructure, and financing. One binding constraint is data. Disability is systematically under-counted in official statistics and under-represented or misrepresented in AI training sets, creating a “disability data desert” that limits accuracy for African contexts (from atypical speech and local sign languages to recognition of mobility aids). Without deliberate collection, curation, and governance that center PWDs, models will continue to miss or misread disabled users, with downstream harms in inclusion, safety, and opportunity. Building representative, ethical datasets—especially for African languages and disabilities—emerges as a first-order priority alongside affordable computing and connectivity. Policy momentum is encouraging but incomplete. The African Union’s Continental AI Strategy (2025–2030) explicitly names disability inclusion, calling for accessible datasets, skills, and governance. Ghana’s and Kenya’s AI strategies also advance infrastructure, data sharing, and public-sector adoption, although explicit disability provisions are still maturing. Convergence around rights-based, inclusive AI is visible; however, its delivery depends on procurement standards, budgeting for accessibility, and participation by Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in the design and oversight process. The study’s central conclusion is pragmatic: AI’s near-term value for disability inclusion is unlocked where three conditions meet. First, inclusion by design—co-creation with PWDs and OPDs, localized languages, and multi-modal accessibility baked into products and datasets. Second, enabling rules and rails—national strategies that mandate accessibility in digital services, robust disability-relevant data, and align incentives for inclusive procurement. Third, sustainable delivery—hybrid human-AI service models, community channels, and financing that lower costs for users and caregivers while supporting innovators to move from pilots to scale. Where these conditions hold, AI can measurably widen access to learning, work, and care; where they do not, tools plateau as proofs-of-concept and risks of bias and exclusion grow. Overall, the path to disability-inclusive AI in Africa is clear: invest in representative data and affordable infrastructure; mandate accessibility and accountability; and deliver through locally grounded, human-centered services. Done together, these steps turn today’s pilots into equitable, reliable systems that expand agency and opportunity for millions of Africans with disabilities." (Executive summary) more

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Atlas de Inteligencia Artificial para el Desarrollo Humano de América Latina y el Caribe
Deep Insights

Gustavo Beliz et al.

Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) (2025), 466 pp.

"La Inteligencia Artificial (IA) está reconfigurando las economías, las sociedades y la gobernanza en todo el mundo. En América Latina y el Caribe, el Atlas de IA para el Desarrollo Humano ofrece una guía estratégica para navegar esta transformación. El Atlas mapea el impacto de la IA en cuatr ... more

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Hamburg Declaration on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Key Guides

Hamburg: Hamburg Sustainability Conference; UNDP (2025), 7 pp.

"As global stakeholders from governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, and civil society, we convene in Hamburg to shape a human-centric, human-rights-based, inclusive, open, sustainable, and responsible AI future. We commit to advancing AI for the SDGs, aligning with o ... more

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Artificial Humanities: A Fictional Perspective on Language in AI

Nina Beguš

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press (2025), 283 pp.

"Artificial Humanities explores how the humanities-literature, history, and art-can deepen our understanding of artificial intelligence and its development. By examining fictional representations of AI in parallel with actual technological developments, Nina Beguš presents a novel interdisciplinary ... more

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2025 Technology and Innovation Report: Inclusive Artificial Intelligence for Development

New York: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2025), xiii, 168 pp.

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AI in Africa: A Landscape Study

Rachel Adams, Fola Adeleke, Leah Junck, Samule Segun, Ayantola Alayande, Selamawit Abdella, Mark Gaffley, Fabio Andres Diaz Pabon, Funbi Salami

Global Center on AI Governance; African Observatory on Responsible AI (2025), 44 pp.

"Though comprehensive AI regulation is still nascent in Africa, there is an increased focus on national AI strategies, ethical guidelines and international collaborations. Over 40 countries have already established data protection and privacy laws, creating opportunities for harmonised regulations a ... nd a supportive environment for AI innovation. Key continental governance instruments and initiatives also include the African Union’s AI Strategy, the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This report found that the increasing application of AI in key sectors across Africa, such as health, education, finance, agriculture, public services and the environment, necessitates a collaborative approach to ethical AI development and use. This requires addressing persistent infrastructural gaps, developing regional regulatory frameworks, investments in AI research and capacity building efforts as well as promoting multi-stakeholder AI governance initiatives. Key strategies identified include joint investment and funding, pooling resources and supporting sustainable and fair open-source projects, which will help direct efforts toward innovation and regional independence. Open Source AI models are particularly important in Africa where local tech startups can leverage global open-source initiatives to build context-specific solutions. However, concerns regarding data ownership, privacy and ethical AI deployment call for more robust policies for open source AI on the continent. To foster responsible AI innovation, African countries should establish comprehensive AI governance frameworks while adhering to existing laws as well as strengthen regulatory institutions to provide oversight over AI technologies. Regulatory sandboxing also offers a viable approach to enable sage experimentation with appropriate oversight. Regional and international cooperation as well as leveraging public-private partnerships can promote funding for expanding AI research and development initiatives, resolve talent shortages and promote infrastructure development. Africa has a unique opportunity to leverage AI, along with its resources and local young talent, for socioeconomic development. However, to ensure inclusivity and sustainable innovation, it is essential to address infrastructure challenges and establish regulatory frameworks that protect societal wellbeing. Embracing collaborative efforts, including open source initiatives, regional and international partnerships are critical for achieving the continent’s ambitious goals without leaving anyone behind." (Executive Summaty, page 3) more

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AI-Generated Disinformation in Europe and Africa: Use Cases, Solutions and Transnational Learning

Karen Allen, Christopher Nehring

Johannesburg: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), Media Programme Sub-Sahara Africa (2025), xii, 158 pp.

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Practical Machine Learning: A Beginner's Guide with Ethical Insights

Ally S. Nyamawe, Mohamedi M. Mjahidi, Noe Elisa Nnko, Salim A. Diwani, Godbless G. Minja, Kulwa Malyango

Boca Raton: CRC Press; Chapman & Hall (2025), xii, 214 pp.

"The book provides an accessible, comprehensive introduction for beginners to machine learning, equipping them with the fundamental skills and techniques essential for this field. It enables beginners to construct practical, real-world solutions powered by machine learning across diverse application ... more

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L'uomo è un algoritmo? Il senso dell'umano e l'intelligenza artificiale

Paolo Benanti

Castelvecchi (2025), 60 pp.

"Il mito di Ulisse ci insegna che la ricerca umana di senso è guidata dall’intelligenza, nelle sue due declinazioni: νοῦς e μῆτις, intuizione e pratica. Dalla sinergia di queste facoltà sono nate le grandi invenzioni che segnano la nostra specie, a partire dalla «grande invenzione de ... more

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Atlas der KI: Die materielle Wahrheit hinter den neuen Datenimperien

Kate Crawford

Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb), Sonderausg. (2025), 336 pp.

"Ist Künstliche Intelligenz nur eine weitere Entwicklung der Digitalisierung des Alltags, eine effiziente Software in einer „Cloud“? Die KI-Forscherin Kate Crawford entlarvt diese verharmlosende Vorstellung und beleuchtet die konkreten Auswirkungen der Technologie auf die physische Welt. Ihre R ... more

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Power Hungry: How AI Will Drive Energy Demand

Christian Bogmans, Patricia Gomez Gonzalez, Ganchimeg Ganpurev, Giovanni Melina, Andrea Pescatori, Sneha Thube

Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2025), 28 pp.

"The development and deployment of large language models like ChatGPT across the world requires expanding data centers that consume vast amounts of electricity. Using descriptive statistics and a multi-country computable general equilibrium model (IMF-ENV), we examine how AI-driven data center growt ... more

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Just Hiring! How to counter discrimination in AI-assisted recruiting within your organisation. A toolkit for HR professionals

M. Daviet, A. Mueller, N. Baranowska, C. Castillo, J. Saldivar, A. Gatzioura

FINDHR Fairness and Intersectional Non-Discrimination in Human Recommendation (2025), 73 pp.

"In this Toolkit, we offer introductory information and concrete recommendations on how to mitigate the risk of discrimination in algorithmic hiring systems within organisations. This Toolkit addresses HR professionals and recruiting agencies and intends to help them gain a better understanding of w ... more

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AI Literacy & Communication

Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI), AI and Journalism Working Group (2025), 25 pp.

"This briefing focuses broadly on journalistic communication about AI. We first summarize research and frameworks that address the following questions about societal AI literacy: What does the public currently know about AI, and what does the public need to know about AI? We then move on to a synthe ... more

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Just Hiring! How to counter discrimination in AI-assisted recruiting at the governance level. A toolkit for policymakers

M. Daviet, A. Mueller, N. Baranowska, G. Meijers, C. Castillo, J. Saldivar, A. Gatzioura

FINDHR Fairness and Intersectional Non-Discrimination in Human Recommendation (2025), 67 pp.

"In this Toolkit, we offer introductory information and concrete recommendations on how to mitigate the risk of discrimination in algorithmic hiring systems on a governance level. This Toolkit addresses policymakers and people working in regulatory bodies, as well as civil society organisations inte ... more

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Just Hiring! How to counter discrimination in AI-powered software for recruitment. A toolkit for software developers

M. Daviet, N. Baranowska, A. Mueller, C. Rus, C. Castillo, J. Saldivar, A. Gatzioura

FINDHR Fairness and Intersectional Non-Discrimination in Human Recommendation (2025), 86 pp.

"In this Toolkit, we offer introductory information and technical recommendations on how to mitigate the risk of discrimination in software development of systems used for recruitment. This Toolkit addresses software developers and product managers working or interested in this field, and it intends ... more

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Thinking with AI: Machine Learning the Humanities

Hannes Bajohr (ed.)

London: Open Humanities Press (2025), 269 pp.

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Rethinking Open Source in the Age of Foundational AI Models
Deep Insights

Greg Maly

ICTworks, July 29 (2025)

"As the global artificial intelligence community wrestles with the tension between scale and accessibility, recent work by researchers at Lelapa AI offers a compelling example of what inclusive, efficient AI can look like. Around the world, the push to shrink massive language models into deployable, ... more

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Intelligence artificielle et emploi en Afrique: Analyse des impacts de la digitalisation du travail

Ibrahim Kalil Konaté, Michel Boukar

Robert Beugré Mambé (preface)

Paris: L'Harmattan (2025), 267 pp.

"Ce livre étudie les effets de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) et de la digitalisation sur l’emploi en Afrique, en usant d’une méthodologie à deux articulations. D’une part, l’analyse des effets directs de l’IA : destruction d’emplois traditionnels dans des secteurs-clés (agricult ... more

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Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2025
Deep Insights

Álvaro Soto, Rodrigo Durán, Antonia Moreno, Sebastián Adasme, Sebastián Rovira, Valeria Jordán, Laura Poveda (coord.)

Santiago de Chile: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL); Centro Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (2025), 195 pp.

"El Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) constituye un esfuerzo pionero para medir de manera sistemática el avance de la IA en 19 países de la región. El ILIA busca no solo monitorear el grado de preparación, adopción y gobernanza, sino también difundir buenas prácticas, ... además de ser un instrumento para orientar políticas públicas que incorporen la IA al modelo de desarrollo de los países de manera integral. El índice se organiza en tres dimensiones: Factores Habilitantes (infraestructura digital, talento humano y datos), Investigación, Desarrollo y Adopción, y Gobernanza. A partir de más de cien subindicadores, el ILIA 2025 ofrece un panorama detallado sobre avances, brechas y oportunidades estratégicas en el despliegue de la IA en América Latina y el Caribe. [...] Once hallazgos principales del ILIA 2025: i) El despertar de los adoptantes tardíos. Ecuador, Costa Rica, República Dominicana y Guatemala muestran mejoras aceleradas en conectividad, talento y estrategias de IA, reduciendo distancia con los países líderes, y abriendo oportunidades que parecían improbables para una cooperación regional. ii) Código abierto: la oportunidad para América Latina y el Caribe. El alto desempeño de Honduras, El Salvador y Cuba en producción de software abierto confirma que este modelo ofrece una vía estratégica para desarrollar soluciones locales, fomentar la colaboración regional y el aprendizaje colectivo, además de promover la transparencia algorítmica. iii) Muchos datos, pero poca disponibilidad. La región produce grandes volúmenes de información, pero su apertura y estandarización siguen siendo limitadas. Esto restringe la ciencia abierta, reduce la transparencia y frena el desarrollo de soluciones locales de IA. iv) Talento humano: alfabetización, poca especialización. La alfabetización en IA duplica a la formación profesional y cuadruplica al talento especializado. Aunque se amplían programas escolares y posgrados, persiste un embudo en la formación avanzada que limita el potencial de la región para producir soluciones propias. v) Talento e infraestructura para la soberanía digital. Brasil concentra más del 90% de la capacidad de cómputo de alto rendimiento de la región. Aunque Uruguay, Costa Rica y Colombia muestran mejores indicadores per cápita en Unidades de Procesamiento Gráfico (GPU por sus siglas en inglés), más de la mitad de los países carecen de infraestructura crítica, lo que refuerza asimetrías. Además, 13 de los 19 países no generan habilidades tempranas en IA en el currículo educativo y 11 no cuentan con programas de doctorado en IA en sus universidades. Sin fortalecer estas capacidades endógenas, la región corre el riesgo de generar soluciones de IA sesgadas y con baja pertinencia local. vi) IA Generativa: una oportunidad de democratización del acceso. La IA generativa ha democratizado el acceso y acelerado la adopción gracias a sus bajas barreras de entrada y a interfaces simples que permiten a no expertos usar modelos avanzados. Países como Chile, Costa Rica, Perú, Uruguay, Panamá y República Dominicana destacan en uso, y ALC es ya la tercera región del mundo en descargas de aplicaciones de IA Gen (15%–20%). Esta accesibilidad actúa como catalizador y, junto con el desarrollo de software y el código abierto, compensa déficits de cómputo, abriendo oportunidades para toda la región. vii) IA y participación ciudadana: un cambio de paradigma desaprovechado. Aunque la IA podría revolucionar la democracia digital, su uso se limita en la mayoría de los países a chatbots informativos y no en herramientas de consulta, de rendición de cuentas o de co-creación de políticas públicas. Colombia, México y Perú muestran algunos avances, pero ocho países no registran ningún caso de aplicación. viii) Investigación escasa y concentrada. Brasil y México reúnen el 68% de los investigadores activos en IA y, junto a Colombia, Chile y Argentina, concentran el 90% de las publicaciones. Solo siete países participan en conferencias internacionales de élite, con predominio de Chile y Brasil. La escasa presencia en foros académicos de alto impacto reduce la visibilidad y la transferencia de conocimiento de la IA de la región; la actividad académica sigue rezagada y requiere mayor atención en la mayoría de los países. ix) Gobernanza en IA: mucho plan y poca acción. Nueve países cuentan con estrategias nacionales de IA, pero solo unos pocos han asignado presupuesto, definido planes de implementación o establecidos indicadores de impacto. Sin mecanismos de ejecución, estas estrategias corren el riesgo de quedarse en meras declaraciones. Al mismo tiempo, mientras a nivel global avanza la apertura e interoperabilidad de datos, la región mantiene un ritmo lento, centrado en debates normativos y éticos. El verdadero desafío es equilibrar la regulación con políticas orientadas al desarrollo y a la implementación efectiva de la IA, de modo que esta tecnología genere valor sin frenar la innovación. x) Sustentabilidad: un llamado urgente. Solo cuatro países (Brasil, Chile, Colombia y México) muestran industrias de centros de datos robustas, y uno de cada cinco centros cumple con estándares internacionales de sustentabilidad. La mayoría de las políticas de IA y digitalización omite el impacto ambiental, lo que puede entrar en contradicción con los objetivos de sostenibilidad medioambiental de la región. xi) Emprendimiento en IA: una oportunidad para la región. Los 19 países ILIA concentran sólo el 1,12% de la inversión global en IA y cuenta con empresas unicornios en apenas seis países. No obstante, el ILIA muestra que no es necesaria una matriz productiva compleja para fomentar el desarrollo de empresas de IA locales y el uso de esta tecnología en el sector productivo. Entornos favorables de innovación y emprendimiento, inversión y políticas de desarrollo productivo pueden detonar dinámicas innovadoras." (Resumen ejecutivo, páginas 15-16) more

Human Development Report 2025: A Matter of Choice. People and Possibilities in the Age of AI Deep Insights

Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Persons with Disabilites in Africa Deep Insights

Atlas de Inteligencia Artificial para el Desarrollo Humano de América Latina y el Caribe Deep Insights

Hamburg Declaration on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Key Guides

Rethinking Open Source in the Age of Foundational AI Models Deep Insights

Índice Latinoamericano de Inteligencia Artificial (ILIA) 2025 Deep Insights