Artificial intelligence’s impact on development work was already well established heading into 2025, from streamlining daily operations and simplifying data analysis to more advanced applications such as predictive analytics and health diagnostics.
“AI has already altered roles like M&E specialists, project managers, and policy analysts, especially by augmenting human capabilities, automating repetitive tasks, and enabling data-driven decision-making,” Bart Édes, a development professor of practice at McGill University, said.
But the widespread uncertainty resulting from the U.S. aid crisis has made it difficult to assess what the relationship between AI and development work might look like today had the U.S. Agency for International Development maintained its critical role in the sector.