About

The AI & Development Initiative works to understand how AI may affect low- and middle-income countries, and to steer AI's impacts to benefit those with lowest resources. It sits within the Center for Development Economics and Policy (CDEP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).

Columbia University's campus and the Manhattan skyline at dusk, photographed by Eileen Barroso

Who we are

Daniel Björkegren

Initiative lead · Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia SIPA

Akseli Palomäki

PhD candidate in Economics, Columbia University

Jun Ho Choi

PhD candidate in Sustainable Development, Columbia SIPA

Partners

We work with a variety of partners around the world.

Work with us

Help us understand and shape AI's impacts in low-income countries.

AI labs

Partner on usage data or evaluations.

Propose a lab partnership →

Governments, multilaterals, NGOs & firms

Propose a pilot or data partnership.

Discuss a pilot or dataset →

Funders

Support measurement, evaluations, and pilots.

Discuss research support →

Responsible data use

We use privacy preserving methods when analyzing usage data from consenting users. We obtain appropriate permissions and ethics review when accessing sensitive records. We work to ensure our findings reach local communities. As part of that commitment, this web site is designed to be accessible across low-bandwidth connections.