Evaluating artificial intelligence for development use cases

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how governments, organizations and individuals deliver services and make decisions. While AI has the potential to improve lives by expanding access to health care, supporting education, boosting productivity and strengthening climate resilience, it also carries risks, including bias, exclusion and unequal benefits. In low- and middle-income countries, where regulatory frameworks and research capacity may be limited, there is an urgent need for rigorous evidence to guide responsible and inclusive AI innovation.

This project will generate and share actionable research on how AI affects development outcomes, with a focus on Africa and Asia. It will fund and support a portfolio of experimental evaluations to understand which AI tools work, which do not, and for whom they work. The initiative will also strengthen local African and Asian research leadership and capacity and ensure that findings are translated into clear guidance for policymakers and practitioners. It will convene key stakeholders in the AI-for-development ecosystem to share insights from the AI Governance and Safety Institute, facilitate connections that can accelerate evidence use and generation and set the future research and funding agenda.

The goal is to build an evidence base to help shape AI investments and governance in low- and middle-income countries. By working closely with researchers, governments and innovators, this initiative will help ensure that AI technologies are used in ways that can be responsibly implemented at scale while achieving inclusive benefits.

This project is part of the Artificial Intelligence for Development program, a five-year partnership between IDRC and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to support policy, innovations and expanded leadership to spur safe and responsible AI development and use in Africa and Asia.