Human Flourishing in the Age of AI: A Global South Coalition for Transition Infrastructure Event Description
Abstract
The panel convened by the Global South Coalition explored how rapid, non‑linear advances in artificial intelligence demand an intentional, equity‑focused transition infrastructure. Neeraj Aggarwal opened with a framing of AI’s exponential growth, the “curing‑trap” of over‑reliance on AI, and the risk of unequal gains between high‑agency and low‑agency populations. The discussion then moved to concrete challenges for the Global South—lack of scalable frameworks, language diversity, voice‑first usage, and affordability—followed by a proposal to create a neutral, globally‑participatory Institute for Human Flourishing. Panelists offered perspectives on data aggregation, responsible transition frameworks, localization, skilling, and open‑source orchestration, before fielding audience questions on youth engagement, employer responsibility, and measures of success. The session concluded with a brief launch of a formal report and a group photo.
Detailed Summary
- Neeraj Aggarwal (moderator) welcomed participants, displayed a slide showing the ecosystem of stakeholders (large tech firms, employers, philanthropic foundations, universities, civil‑society groups).
- He emphasized that human flourishing in the AI age cannot be left to “fate”; it must be deliberately designed.
- AI acceleration: compared the familiar Moore’s law (doubling every 18 months) to a four‑times faster pace (doubling roughly every 3 months), implying a ≈50‑fold increase within a year‑and‑a‑half—beyond human comprehension.
- He warned of the “divide” between the speed of AI capability growth and the slower rate at which human societies can adapt, describing it as “scary” if unmanaged.
2. Conceptual Framework – Agency, Augmentation vs. Replacement
- Introduced a 2 × 2 matrix (high / low agency × augmentation risk / replacement risk).
- Jobs fall into one of four quadrants; high‑agency workers can benefit, whereas low‑agency workers risk displacement.
- Highlighted the need for transition pathways tailored to each quadrant, stressing careful management.
3. The “Curing‑Trap” & “Unequal Gains”
- Curing‑Trap: analogy to the shift from paper maps to Google Maps—people become over‑dependent on AI while their own skills stagnate.
- Unequal Gains: benefits accrue to those with capital, skills, or corporate backing (e.g., AI‑enabled productivity in banks), leaving others behind.
4. Global North vs. Global South – Structural Imbalance
- Defined Global North as higher‑income economies; Global South includes India and other LMICs.
- Noted that frameworks and scaffolding are being built mostly in the North, while the South is left with “survival architecture”—pilot projects that rarely scale.
- Argued for a neutral, globally‑anchored Institute (headquartered in India) that involves the US, Europe, Africa, and other regions.
5. Why a Global‑South‑Mindset Is Crucial
- Affordability, public‑system reliance, multilingual reality (India: >80 % of internet users are “voice‑first”).
- Design choices must account for language diversity, infrastructure gaps, and different usage patterns.
6. The Institute for Human Flourishing – Core Themes
| Theme | Description (as presented) |
|---|---|
| Data aggregation & public‑good insights | Create a single source of truth on job impact, adoption rates, and skill gaps; ensure neutrality and transparency. |
| Responsible transition framework | Define a framework that balances augmentation vs. replacement, mitigates the curing‑trap, and guides equitable policies. |
| Localization & scale | Adapt solutions to local contexts (language, cultural norms) while building reusable building blocks for rapid scaling. |
| Skilling & education | Accelerate skill development to match the 3‑month AI evolution cycle, far faster than traditional multi‑year curricula. |
| Orchestration / open‑source | Coordinate existing initiatives, avoid reinventing the wheel, and promote open‑source sharing of tools, data, and best practices. |
Key Takeaways
- AI is accelerating far faster than human societies can adapt, creating a risk of a “curing‑trap” where dependence grows while skills stagnate.
- Human flourishing must be designed, not left to fate; intentional transition infrastructure is essential.
- The Global South faces unique challenges (affordability, multilingualism, voice‑first usage) that require a dedicated, neutral institution anchored in India but globally inclusive.
- The proposed Institute for Human Flourishing will focus on five pillars: data aggregation, responsible transition frameworks, localization & scaling, rapid skilling, and open‑source orchestration.
- Equity is non‑negotiable: policies must protect low‑agency workers, ensure language inclusion, and bring the 2.1 billion offline people into the AI economy.
- Corporate responsibility: large tech firms need to embed responsible‑AI checks into every development stage and collaborate across the ecosystem.
- Speed matters: quarterly goals, fast‑moving founding teams, and rapid measurement of impact are critical to stay ahead of AI’s three‑month cycle.
- Common language and open‑source sharing are vital to avoid duplicated effort and to scale successful pilots globally.
- Youth engagement: a sizable global youth voice (e.g., 54 k respondents) is already shaping AI policy; their input must be continuously incorporated.
- Success metrics should be concrete (e.g., income uplift post‑skilling, adoption rates, number of multilingual datasets produced) rather than vague aspirations.
Prepared from the verbatim transcript of the “Human Flourishing in the Age of AI” panel held on 17 Feb 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi.
See Also:
- inclusion-for-social-empowerment
- multistakeholder-partnerships-for-thriving-ai-ecosystems
- ai-and-the-new-frontier-for-economic-progress-linking-innovation-to-inclusive-growth
- planet-scale-intelligence-for-economic-growth-agristack-climate-ai-and-foundational-models-for-global-impact
- building-population-scale-digital-public-infrastructure-for-ai
- ai-for-inclusive-economic-progress-the-public-services-ai-stack
- democratizing-ai-compute-and-digital-data-infrastructures
- making-ai-all-inclusive-bridging-ai-communities-to-indias-ai-future
- empowering-the-human-edge-building-a-future-ready-workforce-in-the-age-of-ai
- from-evidence-to-scale-testing-financing-and-operationalizing-technology-and-ai-for-development-and-humanitarian-action