The rapid technological advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping societies and economies worldwide, presenting unprecedented opportunities and challenges for international development.
As a transformative force, AI has the potential to drive innovation, increase productivity, and contribute to economic growth and well-being in emerging economies—or further exacerbate socio–economic divides.
Join the Harvard Center for International Development (CID) on April 29, 2025 for our 16th annual Global Empowerment Meeting (GEM), GEM25: Catalyzing AI for Inclusive Change, where global changemakers will gather on campus to share insights and incubate solutions. GEM25 is cohosted by the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard (D^3) at Harvard Business School and will combine the strengths of public policy and business leadership to catalyze AI for inclusive progress in emerging economies.
GEM25: Catalyzing AI for Inclusive Change will examine current advancements in AI and their real-world applications across development sectors. We will address critical technical, governance, and ethical questions surrounding AI, exploring its transformative potential to drive – or setback – the next generation of economic growth and sustainable development.
GEM25 will take a proactive approach, bringing together the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to incubate research and policy ideas to consider what successful development of AI technologies in emerging country contexts looks like. The emphasis will be on action and on bringing committed individuals and organizations together so that we have pathways to collectively promote and pursue evidence-informed solutions.
Turning Research into Action
For the third year, CID’s GEM Incubation Fund will catalyze new collaborations between researchers and practitioners focused on harnessing the power of AI to advance sustainable development goals in emerging economies.
GEM25 is cohosted by the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard (D^3) at Harvard Business School.