AI for Development: A Conversation with Gaurav Nayyar, Director of the World Development Report 2026

Gaurav Nayyar, Director of the World Development Report 2026, joins Navin Girishankar to make the case for AI's value in development. He explains how AI can help close capability gaps in public services, healthcare, education, and agriculture, while creating significant opportunities for small businesses in developing countries. With frontier and open models concentrated in the United States and China, the report argues that developing countries should preserve a broad menu of partnership options, and build the infrastructure, education systems, and institutions needed to complement AI adoption, tailoring it to their own contexts.

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS