Lowest human development progress recorded in past 35 years, according to United Nations report.
The Latest UN Report Warns Human Development Progress Is Slowing
Get ready for a wake-up call! The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) just released a shocking report indicating that human development progress is stumbling like never before since 1990. Their 2025 Human Development Report, titled "A matter of choice: people and possibilities in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)," paints a bleak picture of our future prospects if we don't turn things around.
"Instead of bouncing back robustly following the trying years of 2020-2021, progress has taken a puzzling downturn," said Farhan Haq, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' deputy spokesperson, during a daily briefing. He referenced the report, which reveals that projections for 2024 depict global stagnation on the Human Development Index (HDI) across all regions in the world. If this sluggish progress becomes the "new norm," we're looking at a world that's less secure, more divided, and more vulnerable to economic and ecological shocks, according to UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
But fear not! The report doesn't just point fingers—it also lays out a roadmap for how we can seize AI's transformative potential to drive change and forge a brighter future. Here's the lowdown on the report's key findings and recommendations.
The Slowdown: A Global Concern
The report shows a severe deceleration in global human development progress. In fact, the HDI increase in 2024 is the smallest since 1990, except for crisis years like 2020-2021. This slowdown threatens to delay the anticipated achievement of very high human development levels by 2030, risking a world that's less secure, more divided, and vulnerable to shocks. The stalling progress is happening across all regions, emphasizing that traditional paths to development are no longer effective in today's tumultuous global landscape.
Widening Disparities
One of the report's troubling findings is the widening gap between rich and poor countries in terms of human development. Progress disparities, fueled by global challenges like trade tensions, a worsening debt crisis, and the rise of jobless industrialization, call for urgent action to avert prolonged stagnation and increasing inequality.
AI: The Silver Lining
All is not lost, though. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has untapped potential to revive development efforts, particularly in low- and medium-HDI countries. For example, according to the survey included in the report, 70 percent of people in those countries believe AI will boost productivity, and two-thirds expect AI to play a bigger role in education, health, and other essential sectors.
The report emphasizes that we can unlock AI's transformative capabilities if it's aligned with human values, rights, and interests. Here's what the UNDP suggests we need to do:
- Build an economy of collaboration between people and AI. The report advocates for creating economic systems where humans join forces with AI instead of competing against it. This partnership can harness AI's power while preserving human roles and opportunities in the workforce.
- Embed human agency throughout the AI lifecycle. Ensuring that human values guide AI from design to deployment is vital. This means integrating considerations of fairness, transparency, and accountability in every stage of AI development to minimize harm and maximize benefits.
- Modernize education and health systems for the 21st century. Education and healthcare systems must be revamped to meet the demands of the AI age. This includes tailored skills development for new types of jobs and leveraging AI to improve healthcare outcomes and accessibility.
There's no denying that the road ahead is challenging, but with concerted effort, collaboration, and a human-centered approach to AI, we can choose to build a future that's inclusive, secure, and sustainable. It's up to us to make the right choices!
- The stagnation on the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2024, as projected in the UNDP's 2025 Human Development Report, signifies a concern not only for personal growth, but also for the overall health and education of individuals worldwide.
- The report indicates that the slowdown in human development progress is having a profound impact on policy-and-legislation, with a less secure economy becoming the unfortunate "new norm" and increased economic and ecological shocks becoming the reality.
- The widening disparities in human development, shown in the report, call for urgent policy-and-legislation interventions aimed at fostering artificial-intelligence advancements to accelerate socio-economic development, particularly in education-and-self-development sectors.
- General-news sources have highlighted the UNDP’s recommendations which include a focus on building an economy of collaboration between people and AI, emphasizing the importance of embedding human agency throughout the AI lifecycle, and the necessity of modernizing education and health systems to meet the demands of the AI age.
- Dealing with the global slowdown in human development progress requires governments and policymakers to work together with technology experts in the realm of artificial-intelligence to create a future that prioritizes the well-being and opportunities for all individuals, in the face of tumultuous global politics and the ever-increasing role of AI within our society.
