In the auditorium of the second AI for Development, or AI4D, conference, the buzz wasn’t about the latest model release or headline-grabbing AI breakthroughs. It was about something quieter but more profound: What the global development community can do as it claims its own space in the forecast AI revolution.
At a time when funding cuts and ethical questions dominate the sector, policymakers, tech sector representatives, and aid organizations gathered in Barcelona, Spain, to ask what responsible AI looks like when the goal isn’t profit, but equity.
“To get AI right, it should be a right,” Emmanuel Lubanzadio, OpenAI’s Africa lead, projected on stage as he presented the efforts the company is making to improve access and literacy integral to equitable AI use. OpenAI’s new Africa-focused initiatives — from a discounted “ChatGPT Go” subscription model to a recently launched OpenAI Academy for Africa — signaled a growing awareness that inclusion can’t be an afterthought.
About the authors
Honesty Pern@honypern
Honesty Pern is the Opinions Editor at Devex. Before this, she managed the News Production team, overseeing newsletter, website, and editorial production. Prior to joining Devex in 2017, she worked at an urban rights NGO in Phnom Penh, and she has previously held positions at community-based NGOs in Australia and Russia. She is originally from France.
Thomas Cserep
Thomas Cserép is an Associate Editor who manages and oversees Devex's social media presence, coordinates Devex’s audience outreach, and produces the This Week in Global Development podcast. Prior to Devex, he worked as a freelance journalist, with his writings appearing in a variety of publications, including Get Spanish Football News and the magazine of the Hungarian Geographic Society.
