The Road to GEM podcast series sets the stage for CID's annual Global Empowerment Meeting, which this year focuses on current advancements in AI and their real-world applications across development sectors.

Road to GEM25

AI is reshaping global development—but how can it be harnessed to address challenges in governance, decentralization, and inclusion? In this episode, we dive into the transformative potential of AI with Pritham Raja and Chinasa T. Okolo, who explore the intersection of AI, policy, and global equity. From using AI to bridge gaps in local governance to the power of smaller, more accessible language models, they discuss the innovations shaping the field. Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a development practitioner, or just curious about the future of tech in low-income countries, this conversation offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of AI for public good. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on the opportunities—and responsibilities—of AI in shaping a more inclusive world.

Guests: Pritam Raja - JPAL | Chinasa T. Okolo - Brookings Institute 
Student Host: Lili Vessereau

Leveraging AI for Global Development: Opportunities and Policy Implications

How is AI reshaping Africa's tech landscape? In this episode, Marcelle N. Momha explores this question with Dr. Barbara Glover (African Union Development Agency-NEPAD) and Dr. William Wasswa (Mbarara University of Science and Technology). They discuss the role of AI in tackling African challenges, highlighting projects like Microsoft's investments and AI-driven healthcare innovations. Discover how Africa is poised to transition from an AI consumer to a global tech leader. Whether you're interested in AI or Africa's future, this episode provides valuable insights into the continent's digital transformation journey. Join us for a deep dive into Africa’s AI potential.

Guests: Dr. Barbara Glover - African Union Development Agency-NEPAD | Dr. William Wasswa - Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Student Host: Marcelle N. Momha - Harvard Kennedy School

Africa’s Emerging AI Tech Landscape: Success, Challenges, and Path Forward

Artificial Intelligence is transforming humanitarian aid—but what does responsible, community-centered innovation really look like? In this episode we explore how AI is being applied across CARE’s work in humanitarian and development contexts, from real-time needs assessment to amplifying women’s voices during crises.

Emily Janoch, with nearly two decades of experience in systems design and evidence-based learning, shares how CARE is using AI to drive dignity-focused development. Joining her is Kalkidan Lakew, whose work emphasizes the importance of data-driven storytelling and community-led response. Together, they shed light on the challenges of bias, access, and misinformation in AI—and what it means to use this powerful tool ethically and inclusively.

Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a development practitioner, or simply curious about the intersection of tech and global impact, this conversation offers grounded insights into what “AI for good” really means in practice. 

Guests: Emily Janoch, Associate Vice President for Thought Leadership and Design at CARE | Kalkidan (Kal) Lakew, Program Coordinator at CARE
Student Host: Ritul Madhukar

AI for Good? Navigating Innovation, Participation, and Impact in Humanitarian Work

In this episode of Road to GEM, we explore the transformative role of artificial intelligence in urban planning and climate resilience. Jennifer Hotsko and Betty Chemier from UNDP’s Accelerator Lab in Panama join host Giovanna Lia Toledo, Master in Urban Planning candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, to share real-world projects where AI is being used to visualize climate risks, engage communities in participatory planning, and support more adaptive and equitable cities.

From ethical considerations to practical applications, the conversation offers grounded insights into how emerging technologies can strengthen urban futures. Whether you’re a planner, technologist, or simply curious about the intersection of innovation and sustainability, tune in to discover how AI is not just a tool—but a catalyst for building inclusive, climate-resilient cities.

Guests: Jennifer Hotsko, Head of Exploration at UNDP’s Accelerator Lab in Panama | Betty Chemier, Head of Experimentation at UNDP’s Accelerator Lab in Panama
Student Host: Giovanna Lia Toledo, Master in Urban Planning, Harvard Graduate School of Design

How Can AI Help Build Greener, More Inclusive Cities?

In this episode of Road to GEM, Harvard PhD Student and CID Affiliate Jasmin Higo
speaks with Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis at the
World Food Programme, about how AI is shaping the global response to hunger. With
over 700 million people facing chronic food insecurity—and food crises driven by
conflict, climate change, and economic instability—this conversation asks a pressing
question: can innovation keep pace with the complexity of today’s hunger challenges?
 
They explore how AI is being used to anticipate emergencies, improve decision-making,
and reimagine humanitarian response. The conversation also touches on the ethical
limits of technology in fragile settings, the shift from rural to urban hunger, and what the
future holds for global food systems.
 
Whether you're interested in technology, development, or humanitarian work, this
episode offers timely insight into how AI is being deployed—and questioned—in the
fight against global hunger.

The Future of Hunger - AI and the Fight Against Food Insecurity

In this episode of Road to GEM, Harvard Kennedy School’s Dr. Aarushi Jain speaks with Dr. Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business at Tufts University’s Fletcher School and Founding Director of Digital Planet, about the uneven global spread of artificial intelligence.

While AI holds promise for breakthroughs in healthcare, agriculture, education, and governance, Dr. Chakravorti sounds a note of caution: these benefits are far from equitably distributed. The conversation explores how AI is being built on deeply unequal data, why access and usage remain skewed across geographies, and how business models, environmental costs, and trust deficits might further widen the digital divide.

Drawing on insights from the Digital Evolution Index and years of work across policy, tech, and consulting, Dr. Chakravorti outlines six key divides shaping our AI future — data, income, usage, geography, production, and sustainability. He also shares tangible examples where AI can support smallholder farmers, underserved patients, and young learners, if deployed wisely.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone grappling with AI’s role in development, digital governance, and the urgent need to build inclusive systems before inequality becomes algorithmically entrenched.

Guest: Dr. Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business at The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Host: Dr. Aarushi Jain, Edward S. Mason Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School


Algorithms and Inequality: Who Wins in the Age of AI?

Incredible progress has been made throughout the world in recent years. However, globalization has failed to deliver on its promises. As problems like unequal access to education and healthcare, environmental degradation, and stretched finances persist, we must continue building on decades of transformative development work.

The Center for International Development (CID) is a university-wide center based at the Harvard Kennedy School that seeks to solve these pressing development problems—and many more.

At CID, we believe leveraging global talent is the key to enabling development for all. We teach to build capacity, conduct research that guides development policy, and convene talent to advance ideas for a thriving world. Addressing today’s challenges to international development also requires bridging academic expertise with practitioner experience. Through collaborative, in-country partnerships, CID’s research programs, faculty, and students deploy an analytical framework and context-dependent approaches to tackle development problems from all angles, in every region of the globe.

Algorithms and Inequality: Who Wins in the Age of AI?

Harvard Center for International Development