Session OverviewThis Kaleidoscope special session will showcase the AI for the Global Majority initiative, jointly led by the Geneva Graduate Institute and Microsoft in partnership with the ITU, convening four research teams working at the intersection of inclusive, responsible, and context-sensitive AI.
Through a series of short presentations followed by a moderated discussion, the session will highlight practical, field-based approaches across diverse sectors and regions. Topics will include inclusive speech recognition for low-resource and multilingual contexts in Ghana, consumer protection and regulatory challenges in India’s AI-driven fintech sector, governance frameworks for public health AI systems, and cooperative models of AI development in Argentina. Together, these contributions offer complementary perspectives on how AI can better reflect linguistic diversity, protect vulnerable users, strengthen local capacity, and promote equitable, community-oriented innovation, providing concrete insights for advancing more inclusive AI ecosystems globally.
Moderator: Jérôme Duberry, Director of the Tech Hub at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland
- Project 1 – Inclusive speech Recognition for low-resource languages
Led by Professor Jerry John Kponyo, Director of the Office of Grants and Research of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), this project develops inclusive automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems adapted to multilingual and low-resource contexts.
Focusing on code-switching (e.g. Twi-English) and impaired speech, the team addresses a major gap in current voice technologies, which often fail to reflect real-world linguistic diversity. By combining community-driven data collection and scalable AI models, the project aims to improve accessibility and reduce digital exclusion in AI-powered communication tools.
- Project 2 – Governing AI in indian finance: Consumer risks and policy responses
Led by Tanushree Kaushal, Researcher and Lecturer in Feminist Political Economy of Global Finance, University of Bern, this project examines how AI is being adopted in India’s rapidly evolving fintech sector, with a focus on consumer protection and financial inclusion.
Through interviews with industry actors and collaboration with the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), the research maps AI use in digital lending and analyses key risks such as bias, opacity, and data privacy. It aims to inform both regulatory frameworks and industry practices in emerging AI-driven financial ecosystems.
- Project 3 – Inclusive AI governance and capacity building for public health
Led by Professor Jude Dzevela Kong, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, this project develops a governance framework and monitoring tools for AI deployment in public health systems across the Global Majority.
Structured around the principles of risks, rights, and rules, the project combines ecosystem mapping, risk simulation, and participatory approaches to address implementation gaps in AI governance. It also seeks to prevent issues such as data extractivism and digital colonialism, while strengthening local capacity and decision-making.
Project 4 – Cooperative AI in Argentina: Towards AI as a commons
Led by Professor Denise Kasparian, Social and Human Sciences at the National University of Quilmes, this project explores alternative models of AI development based on the cooperative movement.
Through empirical work with platform cooperatives and technology co-ops in Argentina, the research examines how AI can be designed as a collectively governed and socially oriented resource, rather than a proprietary asset. It proposes a framework centred on cooperative data, participatory design, shared infrastructure, and equitable value distribution.
Together, these four projects offer complementary perspectives on how AI can be developed and governed in ways that are inclusive, context-sensitive, and aligned with the needs of the Global Majority. They provide concrete, field-based insights that would contribute meaningfully to the Kaleidoscope programme and to broader discussions at the AI for Good Global Summit.