Payal Arora

Digital anthropologist and Professor of Inclusive AI Cultures, Utrecht University

Co-founder of the Inclusive AI Lab. A digital anthropologist, for two decades she has studied user experiences in the Global South to inform the design and policy of inclusive AI. She is the author of more than 100 articles and of award-winning books, including The Next Billion Users (Harvard Press) and From Pessimism to Promise (MIT Press). She has been featured by Forbes and received 2025 recognition in AI ethics and Women in AI Benelux.

Issue 17

When AI opens creative paths and generates new value. Here’s what we can learn from the Global South

AI is not only a technological matter, but a social one: trust, authenticity, and the redistribution of value. In the West, a defensive approach prevails, shaped by fear, regulation, and control. From the Global South, instead, comes a pragmatic optimism: using models to tackle real problems in education, mobility, and public services.

Design and innovation

Payal Arora

Payal Arora

When AI opens creative paths and generates new value. Here’s what we can learn from the Global South

Payal Arora