UN Human Development Report 2025: The AI Divide

The 2025 edition of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Human Development Report, released in July, is titled “Navigating the AI Divide: Human Development in the Age of Algorithms.” This year’s landmark report explores the complex interplay between artificial intelligence and human development — highlighting both the transformative opportunities and the widening inequalities that AI technologies are generating across the globe.

The report opens with a bold thesis: while AI could dramatically accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it also risks entrenching and exacerbating global inequalities if governance gaps persist. UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner emphasized that “we are at an inflection point, where choices made now will determine whether AI becomes a tool for shared prosperity or a driver of exclusion.”

Key themes and findings from the 2025 report include:

  • AI Readiness Gap: The report presents a new AI Readiness Index, showing that while OECD countries lead in infrastructure and talent, many low-income countries lack basic digital capacity.
  • Data Inequality: A striking imbalance in data ownership and access is highlighted, with fewer than 10 companies controlling the majority of AI training data globally.
  • Labor Disruption: Automation is unevenly impacting labor markets. Middle-skill jobs in developing economies are most vulnerable, while tech-centered job creation remains concentrated in a few hubs.
  • Algorithmic Bias & Inclusion: Without localized datasets and diverse design teams, AI systems risk marginalizing already vulnerable populations, especially in health, education, and social services.

The report also outlines policy recommendations for inclusive AI development:
– Expand digital infrastructure and AI literacy, especially in underrepresented regions.
– Mandate public access to government-funded datasets and models.
– Establish international norms for ethical and rights-based AI.
– Strengthen cross-border cooperation for AI R&D and governance.

UNDP makes the case for a “human-centered AI” approach, calling for multilateral institutions to play a bigger role in shaping rules and redistributing AI dividends. The report argues that social protection systems must be modernized to address the risks of AI-driven displacement, and recommends integrating algorithmic accountability into human development indicators.

Civil society and academia welcomed the report’s focus. “The AI divide is the new digital divide,” said Nanjira Sambuli, a Kenyan digital policy expert. “This report finally makes it a development issue.” However, some critics argue that UNDP still lacks the operational leverage to implement many of its recommendations at scale.

The Human Development Report 2025 has been endorsed by several UN agencies and is expected to influence the negotiations around the UN’s Global Digital Compact. Its findings are also being used by donor agencies and development banks to recalibrate funding priorities in tech capacity-building.

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– [UNDP Human Development Reports: https://hdr.undp.org](https://hdr.undp.org)
– [2025 Human Development Report – Full Text: https://hdr.undp.org/content/2025-human-development-report](https://hdr.undp.org/content/2025-human-development-report)

Why UN’s Global Digital Compact matters

The United Nations Global Digital Compact (GDC) represents a historic effort to set universal principles for an open, free, and secure digital future for all. Slated for final adoption at the 2025 UN Summit of the Future, the GDC is part of the Secretary-General’s ‘Our Common Agenda’ and reflects growing consensus that digital technologies must be governed through inclusive and accountable frameworks at the global level.

First proposed in 2021, the Compact was shaped through three years of multistakeholder consultations involving governments, civil society, the private sector, technical communities, and youth. At its core, the GDC proposes a shared vision for the digital age rooted in the UN Charter and human rights principles.

Key objectives of the Global Digital Compact include:

  • Promoting universal digital inclusion and affordable internet access
  • Safeguarding human rights in digital spaces
  • Strengthening trust and accountability in online platforms
  • Advancing equitable access to digital public goods
  • Supporting digital capacity in the Global South


The Compact also highlights the need for a global architecture to coordinate digital governance, including a call to strengthen the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and establish a multistakeholder ‘Digital Cooperation Forum’ under the UN umbrella.

AI governance has emerged as a major theme within the Compact, particularly after 2023, with many states urging harmonized principles on transparency, safety, and ethics. The Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology has released a set of guiding principles for inclusive AI, which are expected to be annexed to the final Compact.

However, consensus has been difficult. Debates continue over the roles of governments vs. private sector actors, as well as over cybersecurity, misinformation, and data sovereignty. Russia, China, and some developing countries advocate for stronger state control, while the U.S. and EU push for human-centric, rights-based approaches.

The Compact is not a treaty but is expected to serve as a soft law instrument guiding digital policy across agencies and member states. It has been endorsed by the Group of Friends on Digital Cooperation and by major UN bodies including UNESCO, UNDP, and the ITU.

Critics caution that the GDC’s impact will depend on implementation and political will. “We need more than nice words — we need infrastructure, accountability, and mechanisms for follow-up,” said Nnenna Nwakanma, a long-time advocate of digital rights in Africa.

Still, many view the Compact as a milestone. “For the first time, the UN is laying down universal principles for our digital lives,” said Amandeep Gill, the UN Tech Envoy. “It’s a signal that we are taking the digital future seriously — and we are doing it together.”

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UN Geneva AI Summit July 2025

Held in July 2025 at the Palais des Nations, the UN Geneva AI Summit brought together over 2,000 participants from governments, tech companies, academia, and civil society to address the future of artificial intelligence in global governance. Framed as a critical follow-up to the UN’s Global Digital Compact consultations, the summit focused on inclusive AI strategies, regulatory coherence, and ethical alignment across regions.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the summit by warning that AI’s rapid advancement outpaces regulation, posing risks to democracy, labor, and human dignity. “We are in an AI arms race that must become a peace race,” he said. “We need global guardrails rooted in the UN Charter.”

Key themes of the summit included:

  • Multilateral coordination and interoperability of AI policies
  • Capacity-building for the Global South
  • Algorithmic accountability and anti-bias mechanisms
  • Leveraging AI for sustainable development and climate action

Panel sessions explored diverse topics such as AI and human rights, the geopolitical impacts of autonomous weapons, and the role of youth and indigenous knowledge in shaping ethical AI. A notable feature was the Civil Society Assembly, which produced a joint declaration demanding greater transparency in AI governance and stronger public oversight of corporate algorithms.

UNESCO unveiled an updated implementation roadmap for its AI ethics guidelines, while the Office of the UN Tech Envoy introduced a draft accountability framework to track how states and companies comply with ethical AI principles. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged all stakeholders to prioritize fairness, privacy, and meaningful consent in the deployment of AI tools.

Several new initiatives were launched:

  • The Global AI Observatory, to be hosted by UNIDIR, which will monitor AI trends, risks, and governance gaps
  • A cross-UN partnership with ITU, UNDP, and WIPO to support capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries
  • A ‘People’s Panel on AI,’ a rotating citizen assembly to advise UN agencies on tech policy

The Geneva AI Summit was widely seen as a pivotal moment to cement the UN’s leadership in global AI discourse. However, critiques were raised over the voluntary nature of many proposed frameworks. “Without enforcement, the risks remain,” said Renata Ávila, CEO of the Open Knowledge Foundation.

The UN plans to integrate summit outcomes into negotiations at the 2025 Summit of the Future, where the Global Digital Compact will be finalized. Many expect AI to feature prominently in the Compact’s final language.

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WFUNA, UNAs Join in Partnership with the Bits for Atoms Alliance

In a major step forward for inclusive global digital governance, the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), in cooperation with several national United Nations Associations (UNAs), has joined efforts under the Bits for Atoms Alliance. This new platform seeks to mobilize a broad coalition of civil society, academia, and tech innovators to shape the future of AI and emerging technologies through ethical, inclusive, and human-centered principles.

The Bits for Atoms Alliance (B4A) derives its name from the convergence of the digital and physical — bits symbolizing data and code, and atoms representing the real-world impact of technology. According to WFUNA officials, the alliance is inspired by the UN’s call for a Global Digital Compact and the growing urgency to democratize access to AI tools and frameworks.

“We recognized a gap between global digital policymaking and local empowerment,” said Lisa Montoya, one of the UNA representatives involved in the founding committee. “B4A aims to connect those dots — to support digital capacity-building on the ground while also contributing to the shaping of international AI norms.”

The alliance plans to work on three key fronts: (1) Education and outreach on AI literacy, especially in underserved regions; (2) Policy engagement with the UN, the EU, and other multilateral bodies; and (3) A digital commons initiative to provide open-source tools, datasets, and community training hubs.

Its steering committee includes representatives from UNA-UK, UNA-Georgia, UNA-Kenya, and WFUNA Youth delegates. The group is also in dialogue with UNESCO’s ethics of AI division and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology.

The Bits for Atoms Alliance is expected to host its first global forum later this year, with working groups focusing on AI and education, digital rights, and the role of civic tech. Early partners include research centers in the Global South, youth innovation labs, and grassroots media platforms.

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UNICC AI Hub Launched

In a landmark step toward AI coordination across the UN system, the United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) launched a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Hub in June 2025. The AI Hub will serve as a central platform to advance AI adoption across UN agencies, facilitating secure, inclusive, and ethical AI practices in line with the UN Charter and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Announced at the annual UN Digital Transformation Conference in Valencia, Spain, the hub is based in Geneva, with satellite teams in New York, Rome, and Nairobi. It is designed to offer technical expertise, shared computing infrastructure, policy alignment, and inter-agency project support for AI use cases ranging from humanitarian logistics to climate modeling.

“Our agencies have diverse mandates, but we all face common questions around responsible AI deployment,” said Sameer Chauhan, Director of UNICC. “The AI Hub enables us to collaborate across institutional silos and ensure the technologies we use reflect our values.”

UNICC has been developing AI tools and platforms for the UN for several years, including AI-based document processing for the World Food Programme, image recognition software for UNOSAT, and predictive analytics for refugee movement under UNHCR. The new hub builds on that legacy with a stronger governance framework, dedicated staff, and a public transparency portal.

The AI Hub’s launch aligns with broader UN initiatives, including the Secretary-General’s Global Digital Compact and the recent establishment of the Office of Digital and Emerging Technologies. Its key priorities include:

  • AI literacy and capacity-building for UN staff
  • Developing open-source, multilingual, ethical-by-design AI models
  • Supporting UN partners with risk assessment, data governance, and model validation
  • Encouraging collaboration with academic, civic, and tech sector stakeholders

Civil society groups have cautiously welcomed the move. “This is an important step toward building trustworthy AI inside one of the world’s largest institutional networks,” said Helen Keita of AlgorithmWatch. “But the hub’s success will depend on its transparency and the degree to which it involves external watchdogs and underrepresented communities.”

The UNICC AI Hub is also expected to publish biannual reports outlining use cases, challenges, and successes, along with internal audits of fairness, accountability, and environmental impact.

As more global institutions turn to AI for operational optimization and decision support, the UN’s AI Hub may serve as a testbed for public-sector responsibility at scale.

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United Nations and the UN Global Digital Compact

The United Nations’ evolving digital agenda reached a key milestone with the formation of the Office of Digital and Emerging Technologies — a dedicated unit within the UN Secretariat tasked with guiding and coordinating digital policy implementation. This institutional step reflects the growing urgency of the UN’s Global Digital Compact, a proposed framework to shape the future of the digital world in line with UN values.

The Office was announced in mid-2025 as part of a broader realignment of the UN’s technology functions. It operates under the leadership of the Envoy on Technology, working alongside UNDP, ITU, and UNESCO to harmonize ethical AI development, data governance, and digital inclusion efforts.

“We are entering a phase where digital policy must be proactive, inclusive, and rights-based,” said Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN Tech Envoy. “The new office allows us to better coordinate system-wide digital efforts and act as a bridge between governments, civil society, and the private sector.”

The Global Digital Compact, first proposed by the UN Secretary-General in his ‘Our Common Agenda’ report, seeks to address global gaps in connectivity, safeguard human rights online, and ensure responsible use of AI. With its implementation targeted for the Summit of the Future, the compact includes principles for universal digital inclusion, protecting data rights, and securing digital public goods.

The new Office will help monitor and support the compact’s execution, especially in areas of cross-cutting importance like emerging technologies (AI, quantum computing, IoT), cybersecurity norms, and open science.

In its first six months, the office has prioritized three workstreams:

1. Supporting Member States in developing national digital compacts
2. Convening stakeholders for multilateral discussions on AI standards
3. Advancing a shared UN-wide strategy for trustworthy digital infrastructure

Civil society groups have welcomed the development, though some caution that implementation must go beyond declarations. “This is a good step, but we need meaningful accountability mechanisms built into the Compact and its rollout,” said Anri Khachatryan of Access Now.

The Office of Digital and Emerging Technologies is expected to play a central role in shaping multilateral negotiations on AI and other technologies in 2026 and beyond.

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