Southeast Asia provides fertile ground for women to benefit from AI

In this article:

• The article discusses how the United Nations is using technological innovations, particularly AI-powered tools, to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia-Pacific region.
• It highlights three specific initiatives: In Indonesia, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has developed an AI-enabled digital tool called STRIVE that gathers the aspirations of villagers and generates recommendations for village planning, helping to give a voice to underrepresented groups.
• In Thailand, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has launched an AI-powered chatbot platform called SoSafe that provides tailored advice to women and girls on social issues like unintended pregnancies, sexual harassment, and domestic violence, leading to increased reporting of domestic violence cases.
• In the Philippines, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is using AI chatbots to provide remote business training and digital marketing support to women entrepreneurs, especially in hard-to-reach areas.
• These initiatives demonstrate how the UN is leveraging the latest technological trends, including AI, to make its systems more efficient and responsive to the needs of the 21st century.