World Bank | The Development Podcast

Does artificial intelligence amount to a dystopian nightmare for the developing world, eliminating jobs and confirming the worse biases across societies? Or could it lead the way to a brighter future, helping to solve critical development issues? We explore the ways in which artificial intelligence is being used across the globe at a grassroots level in India, Papua New Guinea – as well as get the big picture. Join The Development Podcast!

Featured Voices

• Christine Zhenwei Qiang, Global Director, Digital Transformation, World Bank Group
• Naomi Longa, Seawomen of Melanesia, Papua New Guinea;
• Fred Munene, “Farm with Fred” farmer and YouTuber, Kenya;
• Snehal Joshi, Principal, Shikha Academy, India;
• Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, Director of Product Impact at Google;
• Petra Molnar, Harvard Faculty Associate, lawyer, anthropologist, and author

Timestamps

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[02:59] Artificial intelligence to protect the coral reefs in Papua New Guinea

[05:50] Artificial intelligence in educational settings in India

[07:36] Artificial intelligence, agriculture, and youth in Kenya

[09:05] How is AI already being used in the developing world and expansion ahead

[11:49] What are the ethical considerations to keep in mind

[13:58] Jobs: Artificial intelligence and labor market

[16:11] Programs and partnerships where AI is taking the lead: The case of Google

[20:35] How AI is currently being used in the context of refugees

ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT PODCAST

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

ABOUT THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

“Even by the standards of systemic crises, this is a once in a century, global – truly global – crisis,” explains Carmen Reinhart, the World Bank’s newly-appointed Chief Economist, about the pandemic-led economic downturn.

In a special appearance on The Development Podcast, Reinhart and World Bank Group President David Malpass give us their perspective on the health of the global economy and what they believe a path to recovery looks like.

“More-so than the 2008 crisis,” according to Malpass, “this one is really hitting the poor, hitting the developing countries. It’s not only a financial crisis, but it’s a true deep, deep economic crisis.”

Plus: Pabsy Mariano joins hosts Paul Blake and Raka Banerjee to preview this year’s entirely virtual World Bank Group – IMF Annual Meetings and details how you can participate from home.

Show notes:

-Read Carmen and Vincent Reinhart’s article, “The Pandemic Depression”, in Foreign Affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-08-06/coronavirus-depression-global-economy

-Get the latest on the 2020 World Bank Group – IMF Annual Meetings and plan to participate: http://live.worldbank.org

Call it the “great lockdown”, the “coronavirus recession” or another moniker – whatever your label, the facts are clear: this unprecedented pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on the private sector.

While the full scale of the damage to companies and jobs is still being assessed, the International Finance Corporation’s Stephanie Von Friedeburg says: “developed country or a developing country, locking down an economy creates insolvency”.

“What we're going to see is a rise in unemployment and a loss of jobs. Liquidity issues at the firm level. And the longer the lockdown lasts, the more probability of insolvency”.

We hear from Stephanie about her plans to support the private sector during the COVID-19 response and recovery.

Plus, Raka runs us through the latest forecasts for the global economy from our colleagues behind the Global Economic Prospects.

All that and more from the World Bank Group in Washington, DC and around the world!

And as always, we welcome your feedback, questions, and ideas. Email us using [email protected].

The recently released January edition of this year’s Global Economic Prospects report warns that the global economy is dangerously close to a recession, with worldwide economic output projected to be just 1.7% in 2023. While the outlook for all economies is quite grim, the edition takes a special focus on the plight of 37 small states—countries with a population of 1.5 million or less—that are already vulnerable to shocks stemming from the pandemic, climate change, disruptions to tourism and more.

In this episode of The Development Podcast, we speak with three guests: Dana Vorisek, senior economist and one of the lead report authors of the Global Economic Prospects report; the Hon. Tiofilusi Tiueti, Minister for Finance and Tonga World Bank Governor; and Anna Kay, a female-owned restauranteur in Jamaica, who share their insights and experiences to the impacts of a worsening global economy on already vulnerable states.

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

Featured Voices

• Dana Vorisek, Senior Economist, World Bank Group. "The main reason small states were really hard hit by COVID was tourism. People were fearful of traveling, but also these countries shut their borders for a long time."
• Hon. Tiofilusi Tiueti, Minister for Finance and Tonga World Bank Governor. "The impact of climate change is obviously reflected on the frequency and intensity of a natural disaster, which further impacted our primary sector for economic development."
• Anna Kay, a female-owned restauranteur in Jamaica. "We can't get a lot of the things that we used to get, brands that we used to get before, or supplies that we used to get. The biggest thing is the cost of things."

Timestamps

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[01:29] Insights from the Global Economics Prospects Report

[03:51] Visions from the Caribbean: The case of Jamaica

[08:18] Visions from the Pacific: The case of Tonga

[13:56] Characteristics, challenges and vulnerabilities of small states

[18:44] Closing and thanks for tuning in!

ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT PODCAST

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

ABOUT THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

Developing countries are under tremendous strain while attempting to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

To try and free-up resources so that they can better protect lives and livelihoods, the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in April called on creditors to allow lower income countries to suspend their bilateral debt service payments and focus resources on responding to the pandemic. The plan – called the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) – was taken up by G20 Finance Ministers.

On this edition of the Development Podcast, we hear from the World Bank Group’s Global Director for Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment, Marcello Estevão, who answers our questions on how the program works and just how effective it has been.

And send us your questions and comments: [email protected]