Latest news with #HumanDevelopmentReport2025
Korea Herald
2 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@
See - Sada Elbalad
14-04-2025
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Al-Mashat: Human Development Report One of Most Important tools that Provides Realistic Analysis of Development Issues in Egypt
Nada Mustafa Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, attended the inception workshop for the preparation of Egypt's Human Development Report 2025, organized by the Ministry in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), with the participation of Dr. Ashraf Elaraby, President of the National Planning Institute, Dr. Maged Othman, President of Baseera Center for Public Opinion Research, Mr. Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt, Dr. Ahmed Darwish, Advisor to the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation for Governance and Information Infrastructure, a number of experts, and representatives from national entities and civil society, including the National Council for Women, the Ministry of Finance, the American University in Cairo, the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, Sawiris Foundation for Development, and Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). During the inception workshop, discussions began among stakeholders to prepare the Egypt Human Development Report 2025, within the framework of a participatory process between various relevant parties, especially given the high importance the state attaches to this report, which diagnoses the state of development in Egypt in the context of regional and international conditions and developments in the local economy, identifies development gaps, and analyzes human development issues in Egypt. H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat delivered the opening speech, emphasizing that the Egypt Human Development Report 2025 is one of the most important tools that provides an objective and realistic analysis of human development at the national level - by measuring progress in the fields of education, health, standard of living, and the Human Development Index in Egypt, as well as providing recommendations for public policies, especially in light of the compounded challenges the world faces today, which are exacerbating day by day, contributing to the narrowing financial space for developing countries and thus affecting their efforts toward achieving development. Al-Mashat added that Egypt's human development reports have effectively contributed to positively influencing decision-making and policy-making circles and promoting societal dialogue on human development issues, ensuring transparency and impartiality in addressing these issues and identifying the development gaps that need to be addressed in the medium and long term. The Minister explained that this report is the 13th report in the series of national human development reports that began in Egypt in 1994, and this is an important indicator of the Egyptian government's keenness to benefit from various expertise in related fields, so Baseera Center was chosen as one of the independent think tanks and research houses with expertise in many developmental areas, emphasizing that the resumption of issuing human development reports in Egypt in 2021, after more than ten years reflects the Egyptian state's keenness to present its development experience for discussion and evaluation, with the participation of all national stakeholders and international partners. H.E. affirmed that in the context of preparing the report, integration with all relevant national initiatives and strategies, such as the "Decent Life Initiative", "Bedaya Initiative", "100 Million Health", the government's work program, Egypt's Vision 2030, the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals, and country platforms concerned with following up the implementation of development projects at the level of all sectors, especially those aimed at investing in human capital and improving the lives of citizens, noting that the government has launched three ministerial groups, one for industrial development, one for human development and one for entrepreneurship, to drive growth and employment rates. For his part, Mr. Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt, said that HDRs go beyond the idea of data and analysis, but are a national and inclusive platform for dialogue, based on citizens' priorities and experiences, explaining that in light of complex global changes in technology and climate variability, the report provides an opportunity to reimagine Egypt's development path. During the workshop, Dr. Magid Osman, head of the Baseera Center for Public Opinion Research, presented the methodology and mechanisms for preparing the report and the ideas to be discussed, explaining that the current report will build on the findings of previous human development reports in order to advance Egypt's development efforts. Meanwhile, Dr. Ashraf Elaraby, President of the Institute of National Planning, explained that the Institute is a key partner in the preparation of human development reports, as the report is of great importance to various decision makers by providing recommendations to support development efforts in Egypt, as well as a key reference for researchers and academics, and reflects fruitful cooperation with various stakeholders. It is worth noting that the Egypt Human Development Report 2025 builds on the results of the previous report for 2021, titled "Development, a Right for All: Egypt's Pathways and Prospects" which provided a comprehensive review of Egypt's development process between 2011 and 2020, providing an in-depth analysis of a set of key human development issues that significantly affect the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as it analyzes the policies adopted and implemented during this period and their impact on the Egyptian citizen. 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