The World Bank, together with George Washington University held its inaugural AI & The Future of Human Capital Knowledge Symposium on Monday September 29th, 2025.

 

The in-person event brought together academic researchers and practitioners from across various disciplines of health, education, economics, computer science and engineering to showcase cutting-edge research and perspectives of how AI-driven innovations can help address critical human capital challenges in low-income and lower-middle income countries.  


Event Recordings: Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3

Health Session

Moderated by Matthew Hulse, World Bank

 

The Well-Being Effects of AI-Powered Digital Mental Health | Antonia Vazquez, University of Austin Texas [Presentation]

 

A Framework for AI-Driven Health Triage to Improve Healthcare Access and Affordability in Lowand Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) | Khondaker A. Mamun, United International University (UIU) [Presentation]

 

AI-based Clinical Decision Support for Primary Care: A Real-World Study | Robert Korom, Penda Health [Presentation]

 

Can Feedback from a Large Language Model Improve Healthcare Quality? | Anja Sautmann, World Bank Group [Presentation]

 

Poster Lightning Talks 

Moderated by Erica Gralla, George Washington University

 

Argumentation-Based Conversational Agents for Social Protection Delivery in the Global South: Towards Explainable AI for Human Capital Systems | Omolola Haastrup, University of Huddersfield, England [Presentation]

 

Conversational AI and Employability in the Global South: The Case of Boti in Buenos Aires | Juan Gowland, Universidad Austral- Argentina [Presentation]

 

Intelligent General Practitioner (iGP), an AI-powered, CHWs-driven, Patient-Centered Model to Revolutionize Primary Healthcare Delivery in LMICs towards UHC | Khondaker A. Mamun, United International University (UIU) [Presentation]

 

Empowering Women Through AI-Enabled Mineral Intelligence: A Gold Exploration Case from Ayiego, Kenya | Allan Ochola, Kenyatta University [Presentation]

 

Scaling teacher support: Piloting “Profe Gabi,” an AI-powered Mentoring Chatbot for Novice , Teachers in Chile | Ana Teresa del Toro Mijares, Inter-American Development Bank [Presentation]

 

Value-Added Based Algorithmic Matching of Mediators to Court Cases in Kenya | M. Shafkat Farabi, Virginia Tech [Presentation]

 

Labor Transformations in Taxi Services by AI-Enabled Autonomous Vehicles | Leah Kaplan, George Washington University [Presentation]

 

Keynote Lecture

Moderated by Anja Sautmann, World Bank

 

Daniel Björkegren | AI & Development Initiative, Columbia University [Presentation]

 

Perspectives Panel I: AI for the Allocation of Scarce Resources

Moderated by Anja Sautmann, World Bank

 

Interactive Agents and Algorithms in the Real World | Milind Tambe, Harvard University [Presentation]

 

Using AI for Fair Resource Allocation with Noisy Data | Swati Gupta, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) [Presentation]

 

Jobs Search and Hiring Session

Moderated by Gaurav Nayyar, World Bank

 

Automation with Generative AI? Evidence from a Teacher Hiring Pipeline | Ursa Krenk, University of Zurich [Presentation]

 

AI-supported Skills Elicitation, Personalized Information, and Youth Unemployment in South Africa | Jasmin Baier, University of Oxford [Presentation]

 

From Human Counselors to AI Agents: Preliminary Results from a Large-Scale RCT Scaling Career, Guidance in Chile using AI | Gregory Elacqua, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) [Presentation]

 

Education Session

Moderated by Alex Twinomogisha, World Bank

 

AI in the Classroom: Evaluating the Impact of Teacher Training on Practices and Student Outcomes | Carolina Lopez, World Bank

 

From Chalkboards to Chatbots: Evaluating the Impact of Generative AI on Learning Outcomes in Nigeria | Federico Manolio, World Bank [Presentation]

 

Perspectives Panel II: Computational Methods in AI for Social Impact

Moderated by Erica Gralla, George Washington University

 

Forget Automation, Let’s Augment: Toward Human-centered AI | Hal Daumé III, University of Maryland [Presentation]

 

Human Oversight and Mitigating Loss of Control Risks in Advanced AI Systems | Shi Feng, George Washington University [Presentation]

 

Systems Engineering and Artificial Intelligence | Zoe Szajnfarber, George Washington University [Presentation]

Daniel Björkegren

Daniel Björkegren Keynote Speaker

AI and Development Initiative, Columbia University

Swati-Gupta

Dr. Swati Gupta Invited Speaker

Class of 1947 Career Development Associate Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management

Milind-Tambe

Milind Tambe Invited Speakers

Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University Principal Scientist, Google

Shi-Feng

Shi Feng Invited Speaker

Assistant professor of Computer Science, George Washington University

Hal-Daume-III

Hal Daumé III Invited Speaker

Volpi-Cupal Family Endowed Professor of Computer Science and Language Science, University of Maryland

Zoe-Szajnfarber

Zoe Szajnfarber Invited Speakers

Professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, and International Affairs, George Washington University

Call for Papers:

The call for papers is now closed.

The World Bank and George Washington University invite submissions for cutting-edge research on AI solutions in low-resource settings and the impact of AI on developing economies. The conference is intended to foster discussion and connections across disciplines.

Topics of interest include:

  • AI-driven innovations in education, healthcare, job markets, livelihoods, and social welfare systems that address specific human capital challenges in low- and middle-income countries
  • The role of AI in enhancing human capital in low- and middle-income countries and policy implications for integrating AI into human capital development
  • Specific considerations and challenges in implementing AI solutions in low-capacity institutional contexts.

This is a joint event by the Human Capital Project and the AI/DD Research Initiative at the World Bank, and the GW Trustworthy AI Initiative.

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