Small-scale AI solutions are the answer to developing world challenges, says World Bank

As artificial intelligence reshapes global agriculture, questions remain about who truly benefits from this technological shift.In this interview with Anshu Sharma from UN News, Brenda Gunde, Global Lead for ICT4D (Information Communication Technology for Development) at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), explains how emerging digital tools can support smallholder farmers, improve decision-making, and reduce inequality – as long as issues of access, affordability, and scalability are addressed.Speaking on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Ms. Gunde highlights why inclusive innovation, local access to information, and practical delivery systems are essential to ensuring AI strengthens rural livelihoods rather than widening existing gaps.

According to the World Bank, the real AI revolution in developing countries isn’t coming from flashy mega‑models, but from small, low‑cost tools that solve local problems.Mahesh Uttamchandani, the organisation’s Regional Practice Director for Digital and AI inEast Asia and Pacific and South Asia, sat down with Anshu Sharma from UN News during the India AI Impact Summit, and explained that these systems are cheaper to run, easier to adapt, and already delivering outsized impact.

As the India AI Impact Summit, the first of its kind in the Global South, enters its final days, UN News has been talking to some of the senior UN officials who have made the trip to New Delhi.One of them is Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has been meeting with world leaders and the heads of technology companies.When he sat down with our colleague Anshu Sharma, Mr. Türk explained why human rights must be at the core of a powerful technology that many believe is about to transform the world.

In Sudan, the conflict between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has plunged the country into widespread bloodshed and humanitarian catastrophe. The devastating civil war began in April 2023 and is expanding beyond the western Darfur region into central Kordofan, taking its toll on civilians and particularly the most vulnerable, including children.Eva Hinds, Spokesperson for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Sudan, describes how the agency is supporting boys and girls amid the brutal conflict and ongoing cuts to aid budgets.She spoke to UN News’s Nathalie Minard in Geneva.

India’s AI Impact Summit – the first of its kind in the Global South – is underway in New Delhi, and the United Nations has a significant presence at the event, with over 30 side events planned over the week.The main message from the UN is that access to, and development of, AI tools ne eds to be democratised beyond the handful of major economies that are currently driving the technology.Amandeep Gill, the UN Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, is attending the Summit, where he will discuss the UN’s central role in AI governance. He told Anshu Sharma from UN News that managing the risks and harnessing the opportunities needs to involve everyone, not just a small elite. 

Since the declaration of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on 10 October 2025, the United Nations’ main concern has been — and remains — the urgent scaling up of humanitarian aid.And while the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah crossing at the start of this month raised hopes, it has also been marked by delays and reports of mistreatment of Palestinians, according to aid organizations, with no significant improvement in the overall humanitarian situation.For more details, UN News’s Nancy Sarkis spoke to Gaza aid veteran Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

Politics used to be a battle over competing ideas, but now it’s become a very real fight “between identities”: that’s according to Valentina Grippo, an Italian Member of Parliament and delegate to the UN-affiliated Inter-Parliamentary Union, or IPU, which met at UN Headquarters this week in New York.  A majority of MPs worldwide are facing threats and abuse from voters, according to a new IPU report which found that 71 per cent of surveyed lawmakers experienced violence from the public – whether offline, online or both. Speaking to Edouard de Bray of UN News Ms. Grippo stressed that rising polarisation and online disinformation are fuelling violence against politicians and undermining democratic debate worldwide.

As wars drag on across continents and conflicts grow more complex, children continue to bear the heaviest and most heartbreaking cost.Marking 30 years since the United Nations first established its mandate to protect children caught in war, Vanessa Frazier, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, is sounding the alarm, and calling for renewed global commitment to prevention, protection, and accountability.Ms. Frazier warned that grave violations against children are rising sharply, with more than 7,400 cases of child recruitment verified in 2024 alone.Charlotte Frantz began by asking where child recruitment is happening the most – and what is driving it.

As Holocaust remembrance increasingly moves into digital spaces shaped by artificial intelligence, virtual worlds and interactive media, experts are calling for stronger global coordination to ensure ethical, sustainable and responsible memory work.Speaking at UN Headquarters around International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden stressed that no single institution or sector can address these challenges alone. Policymakers, technology companies, museums, educators, researchers and digital creators must work together, she said, to avoid fragmented efforts that waste resources and risk losing vital historical material as technologies rapidly evolve.UN News’s Ana Carmo started by asking her why global collaboration is key for shaping the future of Holocaust memory in digital spaces. 

The head of the police component of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Mamouma Ouédraogo – appointed late last year – was at UN Headquarters in the past few days, taking part in the Police Week.The gathering reunites senior police officers from peacekeeping operations and staffers from the UN’s special political missions. In an interview with UN News’s Jérôme Bernard, she outlined the support provided by MONUSCO’s police component to the Congolese national police and explained the measures being taken to address human rights violations, particularly sexual violence.