UN Sounding Alarm as Recovery from Post-COVID-19 Slows Down

UN Sounding Alarm as Recovery from Post-COVID-19 Slows Down

Rebound Slows Global Development in 2024, UN Warns

After a promising rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023, the world seemed poised to reclaim its pre-pandemic development trajectory. Unfortunately, progress took a sharp turn for the worse in 2024, as indicated by the smallest increase in the Human Development Index (HDI) since 1990, and the lowest advancement in 35 years.

Before the pandemic, the world was on an upward developmental curve that could have propelled it to a high level of human development by 2030. However, the momentum appears to be lost, and the rich-poor country divide has widened, according to the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) annual report released on Tuesday.

If the slow progress of 2024 becomes the new global standard, achieving this high level of human development may take several additional decades, making our world less secure, more divided, and more susceptible to economic and ecological shocks, warns Achim Steiner, UNDP's head.

This slowdown started even before recent cuts in international aid announced by several countries, particularly the United States. "If rich countries stop funding development, it will have an impact on economies, societies, and yes, it may even affect the Human Development Index in a year or two: life expectancy shortened, incomes declining, more conflicts," warns Steiner in an interview with AFP.

Shaking Things Up with AI

In this dismal scenario, the UNDP places its hope on artificial intelligence (AI) to "restart" development. The report pays considerable attention to the challenges and risks associated with AI tools, presenting a survey conducted among 21,000 people in 21 countries between November 2024 and January 2025.

Results show that about one in five people already uses AI, and two-thirds of those surveyed expect to use it in the coming year for education, health, and work. AI, notes Steiner, will transform nearly every aspect of our lives, with the opportunity it represents for human development now "a matter of choice."

"The future is in our hands. Technology is not just a collection of things; it involves choices made by individuals or groups, whose consequences will reverberate through generations," the report emphasizes.

These choices include deciding between building a "collaborative" economy with AI or competing with it. About half of those surveyed expect at least some of their work to be replaced by AI, but they also seem ready to seize the opportunity: 60% of those surveyed hope to see the creation of new job roles that don't exist yet.

The UNDP underlines the risks associated with AI, such as access inequalities between rich and poor countries, and "cultural biases" linked to partial data and the countries where tools are developed and chatbots are trained.

For instance, a recent study by Harvard University researchers cited in the report reveals that ChatGPT's responses are closer to those of someone living in an English-speaking wealthy country than to someone living in a poor country. However, "we can devise solutions to reduce this risk," says Steiner, arguing against using the risk as an excuse to rule out the potential benefits of AI in areas like medical research.

[1] https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/data-and-research/human-development-report/human-development-report-2025.html[2] https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news/2024/11/2024-slowdown-human-development-undp-report.html[3] https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news/2024/03/the-inequality-conundrum-an-interview-with-achim-steiner-un-under-secretary-general-and-executive-director-of-the-un-development-programme.html[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration-talks-plan-slashing-foreign-aid-2025-02-08/

1. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) believes that artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially "restart" development, which has slowed down significantly in 2024, as indicated by the smallest increase in the Human Development Index (HDI) since 1990.
2. The report by UNDP highlights the transformative potential of AI, suggesting that it has the opportunity to impact nearly every aspect of our lives, and therefore, become a crucial factor in human development.
3. In terms of politics and policy, the choices made regarding AI adoption, such as building a cooperative economy with AI or competing against it, could greatly influence the trajectory of education, self-development, general news, and learning.
4. As AI becomes more prevalent in our daily lives, addressing issues like access inequalities between rich and poor countries, and ensuring AI tools don't perpetuate cultural biases, will be essential for ensuring a future that benefits humanity as a whole.

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