Latest news with #AMatterofChoice:PeopleandPossibilitiesintheAgeofAI


Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
We can 'choose' to make AI help humans, not replace them: UNDP official
UNDP's Pedro Conceicao urges Korea to play proactive roles in shaping future of AI As artificial intelligence advances, questions loom over whether it will replace human labor or unlock new levels of development and well-being. Pedro Conceicao, director of the UNDP Human Development Report Office, believes the answer lies in human hands. The direction AI takes — whether it augments or replaces human capabilities — is not preordained, Conceicao said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. 'It's not something that is inevitable in the path of technology as such but results from decisions that individuals, firms and governments make on how AI is deployed and how AI evolves.' Conceicao is the lead author of the Human Development Report 2025, titled "A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI," released globally on May 6. The official was in Seoul for the report's Korean launch event in June. Korea, as one of the major donors to UNDP, has sponsored the annual report since 2019. He said that to advance human development, AI should complement, not replace, human labor. "AI should be employed not to replace people but to find ways in which it augments what people can do." He cited medical imaging as a key example. 'Some predicted that AI would replace radiologists because of its superior ability to detect patterns,' he said. 'But the exact opposite happened. We now see more demand for radiologists.' While AI can identify disease in images better than the human eye, radiologists do more than analyze images. They interact with doctors and patients, manage paperwork and follow hospital protocols — tasks AI cannot perform. This, he explained, demonstrates that AI's superior capabilities in specific tasks do not automatically translate into widespread job replacement. 'But this is not automatic. It depends on the choices we make.' 'That it is a matter of choice whether AI is going to be used to augment human development, to create jobs, to increase productivity, amend standards of living, enhance education, health, it's not inherently in the technology,' he said. 'This is a matter of economic, social and political choice that we need to reclaim. Societies need to reclaim that choice and not to defer to just the technologies or assuming that the technology on its own is going to determine the outcomes." AI should be for everyone Conceicao also warned that the spread of AI could deepen inequalities, not between humans and machines, but among people. 'The real divide may be between those who can use AI and those who cannot — whether individuals, firms or governments,' he said. He pointed to a slowdown in human development progress in recent years, particularly in low-income countries, as reflected in Human Development Index data, due to trade tensions and increasingly capital-intensive economies. Yet expectations for AI remain high, even in those regions. According to UNDP survey data from late 2024 to January, two-thirds of people in lower-HDI countries expect AI to play a significant role in work, health and education. Conceicao stressed the importance of governments taking these expectations seriously. 'No country should be left behind,' he said. 'Given the fact that countries are very divided on the regulation of AI, we should make sure that they talk to each other, make sure that this dialogue is informed by science and make sure that the lower-income countries are not left behind and are also part of this dialogue.' Because AI technologies and firms operate globally, he added, national regulations alone are insufficient. Even if countries regulate AI independently, without international cooperation there will be inevitable gaps and asymmetries, he said. 'It is premature to have a template that is universally adopted because of the differences, but I think it is important to continue to have that dialogue so that different jurisdictions can hopefully come to some convergence on how to deal with AI.' Korea's role in AI era Conceicao highlighted South Korea's potential to help shape global AI discussions, especially through its involvement in the Global Digital Compact, adopted at the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024. 'Korea, as a technology and science leader, can both share what it is doing but also learn from the perspectives of others,' he said, adding that Korea could support lower-income countries by sharing expertise and resources. Domestically, Korea could strive to strike a balance between economic competitiveness and social cohesion by focusing not only on technology and its capabilities, but also by having a broad dialogue across society to understand how AI can help improve productivity in firms, support health care and enhance education, he said. 'Because in Korea and elsewhere, ultimately the impact of AI is not going to be determined by the technology but by the way in which society, firms and the economy use it,' Conceicao said. 'So finding that balance has more to do with how these decisions are made than with the capabilities of the technology.' shinjh@


Deccan Herald
09-05-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Human development: Gaps delay goals
India has made a slight improvement in its ranking on the latest Human Development Index (HDI), but the report also shows that the country has much more to achieve. It has recorded a three-place rise from its 2022 rank of 133 to 130, out of 193 countries, but the fact remains that India is still in the bottom one-third of the world. According to the Human Development Report, 'A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI', India has registered an HDI value increase to 0.685 in 2023 from 0.676 in 2022. Considering that the pandemic years badly set the country back, just as much as the rest of the world, India's performance is credit-worthy in three areas. These are 'a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living'. India's life expectancy improved from 56.6 years in 1990 to 72 years in 2023. Children's tenure in school increased from 8.2 years to 13 years and the per capita income from $2,167.22 to $9046.76 during the period. Initiatives such as MGNREGS and RTE have a role in India also faces serious challenges in other areas – there is a high level of income inequality that has reduced the country's HDI by as much as 30%. While inequality in health and education has lessened, it remains high in terms of gender and income. Female labour force participation has improved but remains low. Political representation of women is also low and the constitutional amendment to improve this is yet to come into force. Much of India's neighbourhood mirrors these shortcomings, except Pakistan and Afghanistan – both have reported poorer performance. China and Sri Lanka have secured higher positions in the DBRS upgrades India's sovereign credit the report shows that human development has stalled to a 35-year low because of various factors including the Covid pandemic and the economic slowdown in most parts of the world. The annual HDI increase was the lowest in 2023 since 1990. A positive takeaway from the report is the widespread hope that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will boost human development. It is expected that AI will improve productivity, create jobs, and show results in areas such as education and health. The report says India has been able to retain 20% of its AI researchers. The country needs to use AI in diverse areas such as agriculture, healthcare, and public service delivery. At the same time, adoption needs to be backed by strong policies and safeguards to prevent AI from exacerbating inequalities.


The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
A step up: on India and the 2025 Human Development Report
Amid a disturbing rate of deceleration in global development and a growing divide between the rich and the poor, India has inched up on the Human Development Index. In the 2025 Human Development Report, 'A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI', released on Tuesday, India ranks 130 out of 193 countries, from 133 in 2022. It registered an HDI value increase to 0.685 in 2023 from 0.676 in 2022. Coming on the back of two debilitating pandemic years, it can be said that India's recovery has been strong in the three fields HDI measures: 'a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living'. India's life expectancy, at 72 years in 2023, is the highest level it has reached since the inception of the index in 1990 (58.6 years). Children, the report noted, are expected to stay in school for 13 years on average, up from 8.2 years in 1990; and Gross National Income per capita has risen from $2,167.22 in 1990 to $9046.76 in 2023. It gave a shout out to programmes such as MGNREGA, the Right to Education Act, the National Rural Health Mission and other initiatives for the improved status, but also sounded a word of caution about rising inequality, particularly significant income and gender disparities. The female labour participation rate may have risen to 41.7% in 2023-24, as the Economic Survey of 2024-25 pointed out, but a stronger ecosystem needs to be built to ensure women join the workforce and are able to retain their jobs. There is a lag in political representation of women as well with no indication yet when the constitutional amendments reserving one-third of legislative seats for women will come into force. Underprivileged girls and boys still struggle to get an education, and until this anomaly is corrected, India's HDI value will not rise. Though the report highlights that 13.5 crore (of India's population of 144 crore) 'escaped multidimensional poverty' between 2015-16 and 2019-21, income and gender inequalities have pulled down India's HDI by 30.7%, 'one of the highest losses in the region.' The thrust of the HDR this year was on AI and how human beings may benefit from it on development parameters. India, it said, has been able to retain 20% of AI researchers, up from nearly zero in 2019. Going forward, India must leverage AI to deliver on many fronts from agriculture to health care, education to public service delivery. But it is imperative that proper policy and safeguards are in place to thwart the risk that AI may deepen existing inequalities.


Time of India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India a rising AI powerhouse, talent retention growing: Report
This is a representative AI image (Pic credit: Lexica) NEW DELHI: Highlighting the critical role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future, the 2025 Human Development Report cites India as a rising "AI powerhouse" with the highest self-reported AI skills penetration and growing domestic retention of report, released by UNDP on Tuesday, states that 20% of Indian AI researchers now remain in the country as against zero in global trends reflect that human development progress has slowed to an unprecedented 35-year low, the HDR - titled "A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI" - highlighted that AI could reignite development. The report also includes a survey on AI and human development, which gathered views of 21,000 people from 21 countries, including India, from Nov 2024 to Jan 2025. It showed that 70% of people expected AI to boost productivity and 64% believed it would create new jobs - with optimism highest among the youth. It also found that AI use was substantial for about 20% of the respondents. "But even more stunning, at least two-thirds of respondents in low, medium and high Human Development Index countries expect to use AI in education, health and work- the three HDI dimensions - within one year," the survey HDR states that India is leveraging AI to deliver inclusive growth. From agriculture to healthcare, AI is being deployed to solve complex challenges at scale.