Extracts from an article in ICTworks. Read infull: https://www.ictworks.org/digital-public-infrastructure-can-transform-ser...
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Public Infrastructure Can Transform Service Delivery
By Wayan Vota on July 3, 2025
The humanitarian sector stands at the cusp of a technological revolution that could fundamentally transform how we deliver services to the world’s most vulnerable populations. A new research paper from University College London – Interactions Between Artificial Intelligence and Digital Public Infrastructure: Concepts, Benefits, and Challenges -reveals how artificial intelligence and digital public infrastructure (DPI) can work together to create more inclusive, efficient, and equitable public services.
Defining the Game-Changers
• AI is a general-purpose technology (GPT), like electricity before it with broad applications across society.
• DPI refers to the foundational digital systems that enable everyday functions like digital payment, identification, and data exchange like India’s Aadhaar digital ID system.
The magic happens when these technologies intersect. AI’s general-purpose nature means it can enhance virtually any DPI system, while DPI provides the structured, consent-based data that can make AI systems more accurate and inclusive...
The convergence of AI and DPI isn’t just a technological trend—it’s a humanitarian imperative. Done right, it could democratize access to high-quality public services globally. Done wrong, it could deepen existing inequalities. The choice is ours to make, but the window for influence is narrowing rapidly.
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HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org