In 2020, IDRC and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) launched the Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa (IAPD Africa) program. This program aims to support the AI community and policymakers in developing responsible, ethical, and equitable AI that meets the continent's challenges, under the leadership of Africa. IDRC, the International Development Research Centre, was established in Canada in 1970 with a mission "to initiate, encourage, support and conduct research into the problems of the developing regions of the world and into the application of scientific, technical and other knowledge for the economic and social advancement of those regions . IDRC sees climate change and inequality, combined with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as major obstacles to achieving the UN's sustainable development goals, and it is these challenges that it helps to address. While the center is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, its five regional offices are located in India, Jordan, Kenya, Senegal, and Uruguay to be as close as possible to the researchers and projects it funds.

When sourcing for candidates, recruiters have a variety of tools to choose from, including automated screening tools. Sammy encountered bias from people in his education experience and employment search with various companies, so could the use of artificial intelligence (AI) correct that bias or will machine learning also filter out highly qualified candidates with disabilities like Sammy? The Inclusive Design Research Center at OCAD University (IDRC) is searching for that answer. It is estimated that over 50 percent of companies will deploy some form of AI-assisted or AI-automated hiring tools in the next decade. These tools use past hiring data to filter applicants by optimizing the characteristics of previous successes, but does that approach help build a diverse and inclusive workforce?

The USA has been named as the country best prepared to realise the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in public service delivery, topping the 2020 Government AI Readiness Index. Meanwhile Singapore, which led the 2019 list, has fallen to sixth place. The index – compiled by UK-based consultants Oxford Insights and Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) – examines how well-placed nations are to take advantage of the benefits of AI in their internal operations and the delivery of public services. This year, 172 countries were reviewed. The ranking measures AI readiness across three criteria: government willingness to adopt AI, and the ability to adapt and innovate to do so; availability of AI expertise and tools from the technology sector; and capabilities in building AI tools, providing them with high-quality data, and building them into public services.

We can already see the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) in international development: the seemingly endless possibilities to enhance productivity and innovation across healthcare, agriculture, education, transportation, and governance. Yet it is also becoming abundantly clear that AI could have negative repercussions as well, particularly in countries with weaker institutional capacity and legal protections. AI has the potential to threaten democratic processes, employment, human rights and -- because of the weaponization of AI tools -- privacy, policing, and defense. Apart from these potential benefits and threats, the transformative potential of AI for both good and harm will be magnified in the Global South, where existing gender and socio-economic inequalities could either be tempered or exacerbated. Given the opportunities and potential consequences of new automation and mechanization techniques and advanced analysis through machine learning and neural networks, IDRC is investing in applied research across a number of domains to advance the public good with the use of artificial intelligence for development (AI4D).