Artificial Intelligence
AI for Sustainable Development
Artificial Intelligence, if designed and deployed responsibly and equitably, can be a powerful driver for sustainable development and accelerator of the SDGs.
UNDP supports countries to build inclusive AI ecosystems, strengthen capabilities, and implement solutions that benefit both people and planet - working to ensure all countries can actively participate in shaping and harnessing AI's transformative potential.
Strengthening AI Foundations for Development
UNDP supports countries to strengthen local AI ecosystems on five key foundations.
Orchestrate data foundations for globally representative AI development.
- Accelerate the digitization of low-resource languages through responsible, and scalable partnership models
- Support foundational infrastructure for data capabilities to enhance countries' ability to create inclusive datasets for locally representative AI development
- Capacity building, and training for local talent and policymakers to build inclusive datasets that support the development of locally relevant AI tools
Assess and enhance country-level AI readiness, build local capacity, and responsibly implement locally relevant AI solutions.
- Conduct Digital Readiness Assessments, and AI Landscape Assessments to evaluate countries' AI ecosystems
- Leverage findings from Digital Readiness Assessments, and AI Landscape Assessments to develop country specific roadmaps, or national AI strategies
- Support capacity of countries at the intersection of cybersecurity, and AI
- Improve access to ready-to-deploy open-source tools, to support countries lacking resources for proprietary AI models
Facilitate access to green compute infrastructure and decentralized computing.
- Explore models for shared compute resources, and compute as a service at subsidized rates
- Establish the Green Compute Coalition for accessing green compute across diverse developing country contexts, and ensuring that the growth of AI capabilities align with global climate goals
Build the foundations for equitable, and trustworthy AI.
- Assist countries on AI trust and safety by building locally relevant actionable resources, and tools
- Train local policymakers, legal experts, business leaders, and technologists on responsible AI
Promote private sector investments in local AI ecosystems.
- Catalyze private sector collective action across AI ecosystems
- Scale efforts globally through a network of regional AI Hubs
- Facilitate, and promote private sector investments, and actions
Leveraging our global perspective and in-country expertise, UNDP contributes to global AI and digital conversations, including implementation of the Global Digital Compact and the recommendations of the Secretary-General's High Level Advisory Body on AI, including through the UN Inter-Agency Working Group on AI,
close partnerships with UN agency partners like the ITU and UNESCO, and the G7.
In country context, UNDP champions AI to accelerate progress towards sustainable development. The Accelerator Labs are using AI to analyze earth observation data (satellite data and drone data) to detect crop diseases (Cameroon and Cabo Verde) or areas of accumulated waste (Guatemala, the Philippines, Serbia and Viet Nam), and to generate land use and cover maps (Ecuador and India).
AI Hub for Sustainable Development
As affirmed in the G7 Leaders’ Declaration, the AI Hub aims to enable multi-stakeholder partnerships to support local AI digital ecosystems, strengthen capacities to advance AI for sustainable development, and complement existing initiatives including the AI for Development Donors Partnership.
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Featured AI solutions
At UNDP, we support partners in exploring both the positive potential and the risks of AI for development. We advocate for safe, responsible and inclusive AI governance, and we develop AI solutions with a people-centered, rights-based approach to data availability, quality, openness and accountability.
AI Landscape Assessment
The AI Landscape Assessment (AILA) is a comprehensive framework created by UNDP to assist countries in responsibly and effectively harnessing the potential of AI.
AILA focuses on three foundational pillars: Government as an enabler of AI, Government as a user of AI, and Ethical AI.